(Unfortunately the Laskowski Lab cannot support a student through this program *this* year but if you’re a Davis undergrad interested in research, then there are lots of other really cool and supportive labs to check out!)
Kendra M Chan and Nieland Family Fund Awards for undergraduate research
The College of Biological Sciences and Department of Evolution and Ecology announces summer undergraduate research fellowships supported by the Kendra M Chan fellowship and the Nieland Family Fund. These awards provide a stipend to allow undergraduate students to conduct full time independent research under the direction of a faculty member in the Department of Evolution and Ecology or at the Bodega Marine Laboratory. The awards are open to undergraduate students in the College of Biological Sciences (applicants can be seniors during Academic Year 20-21, but Spring 2021 graduates are ineligible). The selection of Award recipients will be based on academic merit, research interests and potential. Fellowship recipients will receive approximately $5000 for a 10 week internship.
Faculty who have agreed to mentor students through this program in Summer 2021 are listed below, along with their websites describing their research. Faculty marked with a * will be based on the Davis campus, whereas those based with a + are based at the Bodega Marine Lab. Students selected to work on projects at BML will have housing costs covered for the summer at BML.
*Graham Coop. The lab works on understanding patterns of population history, local adaptation and speciation from genomic data using a range of computational and statistical approaches. https://gcbias.org
*Jennifer Gremer. Potential project ideas relate to investigating how plant traits affect responses to environmental conditions. These projects will focus on traits related to germination, growth, and defenses against predators and how they affect responses to herbivory and drought. The work will be based on the main UC Davis campus, and will likely be a mixture of fieldwork, greenhouse and lab work, and data analysis. https://gremerlab.wordpress.com
*Artyom Kopp. Our lab works on developmental and evolutionary genetics using Drosophila as an experimental model. Potential projects may focus on the evolution of sexual dimorphism and sex-specific structures, the origin of new genes and regulatory elements, and the evolution of cells and molecular pathways involved in male-female communication. https://kopplab.ucdavis.edu
*Jeff Ross-Ibarra. A student in my lab would use computational tools to study the genetic aspects of local adaptation or genome evolution in domesticated maize or its wild relatives. My lab website with some current research projects is rilab.ucdavis.edu.
+Eric Sanford. (1) The ecology and evolution of predator-prey interactions: Examining the interactions between drilling snails and mussels on rocky shores. (2) The ecology and evolution of geographic range expansions: coastal invertebrates moving northward in an era of ocean change. All projects will be based at Bodega Marine Laboratory. Website: https://www.sanford-lab.com/
+Jay Stachowicz. Students will undertake lab and field work based at the Bodega Marine Laboratory to investigate marine evolutionary and community ecology in seagrass ecosystems. Projects could include genetic diversity and adaptation to climate change, community ecology of invertebrates and fish, plant-microbe-disease interactions, or eDNA studies of fish diversity. https://stachlab.wordpress.com
*Peter Wainwright. Functional morphology of feeding in fishes. We will combine high-speed video recordings of fishes feeding in the laboratory with anatomical and phylogenetic studies to address a question about how fish feeding mechanisms work and evolve. https://fishlab.ucdavis.edu
Applications should consist of (1) a CV or resume detailing relevant research and course experience; (2) an unofficial copy of the student’s transcript; (3) a cover letter stating the reasons for wanting to pursue this fellowship, any relevant experience and/or career goal, and a list of up to three faculty member(s) under whom the student would like to work, in order of the student’s preference. There is no need to contact listed faculty prior to applying. The cover letter should also include the names and contact information for two individuals (at least one of whom is a faculty member) who are familiar with your qualifications and are able to act as references. Submit applications by email to jjstachowicz@ucdavis.edu with “EVE Summer Research Fellowship” in the subject line.
Deadline: for full consideration, submit all materials by April 5th at 5pm. Decisions will be made promptly.
Questions about the position can be directed to jjstachowicz@ucdavis.edu
Descriptions of the Bodega Marine Lab, its facilities, research space, and housing are available at https://marinescience.ucdavis.edu/bml/about and information about the Department of Evolution and Ecology, its faculty, and research space are available at https://eve.ucdavis.edu
(Unfortunately the Laskowski Lab cannot support a student through this program *this* year but if you’re a Davis undergrad interested in research, then there are lots of other really cool and supportive labs to check out!)