Open opportunities
Postdoctoral Research Associate in Invasion Risk Assessment
(Apply by February 26 for full consideration.)
We are recruiting a postdoctoral research associate that will focus primarily on research related to better understanding the invasion risk of non-native plant species. More information here: https://explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/530052
Postdoctoral Research Associates in Plant Disease Ecology and Evolution
The Flory and Goss labs at the University of Florida (UF) are recruiting postdoctoral research associates for a project that examines the role of invasive plants in the eco-evolutionary dynamics of pathogen transmission across ecosystems boundaries and crop disease emergence (Goss et al. 2020 Annu Rev Phytopath). More information here: https://explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/529607
More Information
Prospective graduate students
I am often looking for new graduate students to join the lab, and I’m most interested in advising Ph.D. students, although we regularly host M.Sc. students. Our lab conducts research on a wide range of topics in ecology, and some in agroecology (see home page and recent publications), but we do not do research on strictly agronomy or weed science topics. Interested students should carefully consider if their research interests and experiences overlap with what we do in our lab, and then should send a brief email of inquiry that outlines 1) motivation for pursuing graduate education, 2) previous research experience and how it relates to work in our lab, and 3) general ideas of the research you’d like to conduct for your graduate degree, especially if interested in a Ph.D.
Funding for graduate studies in our lab usually comes from fellowships at UF, externally-funded grants (e.g., NSF, state agencies), or fellowships/funding received directly by incoming students. For internal fellowship and grant-funded positions, I will work with students to secure funding (i.e., students do not need to separately apply for UF-based fellowships) once it is mutually agreed that pursuing a graduate degree in the lab is likely a good fit.
Postdoc positions
Open funded postdoc positions in the lab will be advertised on this page and via Twitter and Ecolog. I’m also interested in hosting postdocs who have postdoc funding from their home countries or external or UF funded fellowships (e.g., the Ewel Fellowship).
Mentoring style
We are committed to providing a supportive, inclusive, and welcoming atmosphere in the lab. Graduate studies are often complicated and can be incredibly stressful, so I meet and communicate very regularly with students and provide all types of support as needed. However, students, especially those pursuing a Ph.D., are expected to develop their research ideas and methods independently, with my guidance. My goal is to mentor students to be broad, critical thinkers who know how to do science from start to finish, including conceiving ecological questions that need to be answered, development of research approaches, synthesis and analysis of data, and preparation of compelling written and oral presentations. I place a very high value on production of top-quality papers, which is important for communicating science well and also an important metric in academia, so writing well is a primary focus in the lab. The current academic and non-academic job markets are incredibly competitive for ecologists, thus I mentor students from the very beginning based on their intended career path.