Call for PhD students,
I am looking for 2 students to begin PhD research with myself, Michael
Sheriff, at Penn State University. These positions are fully funded for the
first three years, including tuition and summer salaries. The starting date
is flexible but preference will be for a starting date this fall (Aug/Sept)
or January 2014.
The research focus of my lab addresses one of the fundamental questions in
biology: what limits and regulates animals in their natural world? Our
approach is to bridge physiology, behavior, and ecology to understand how
animals interact with the world around them. As such, we are broadly
interested in the underlying physiological mechanisms by which ecological
interactions (predation, competition, climate, etc
) alter behavior and
cause changes in reproduction, survival, and ultimately population
demography and community structure. Projects in our research group are
centered on two major themes:
1) How ecological stressors drive changes in free-living animals physiology
and behavior, how this impacts reproduction and survival and how this drives
changes in population dynamics and ultimately community structure.
a) Particular focus has been on climate change, predation, food
availability and habitat.
b) Areas of physiology focus mostly on stress hormones
(glucocorticoids) and sex hormones (testosterone, DHEA) and metabolic rate;
behaviors focus mainly on phenology (timing of annually recurring events)
and anti-predator and foraging behaviors.
2) How maternal stress may impact offspring physiology, behavior and
fitness.
If you are interested in joining our research group please contact me via
email at [email protected]
I place a premium on analytical skills, writing ability, research
experience, hard work, and enthusiasm. If and when you decide to contact me,
please take some time and write a thoughtful letter (because this is more
likely to generate a thoughtful response). Please send me your CV, GRE test
scores (Canadian students dont need to send this), and transcripts. Tell me
a bit about your interests, and why youre interested in working with our
group.
