Careers
Graduate Student
Description of Duties
Grant funding in support of this position is tied to the PopuWeed project, a multi-year effort started in 2024 to monitor genomic changes in agricultural weed populations. Inspired by long-term eco-evolutionary research projects such as the E. coli LTEE, Project Baseline, and the Park Grass experiment, PopuWeed will use pooled whole-genome sequencing to evaluate factors that determine the rate, direction, and parallelism of weed evolution over multiple species, sites, and years. The successful candidate for this position will be expected to work toward goals within the PopuWeed project, but will have the freedom to design and pursue additional projects of their interest. Examples may include questions focused on weed genetics such as: “Do different species of weedy grasses exhibit similar resistance mechanisms to paraquat?” Or evolution-focused questions such as: “Does dioecy confer an adaptive advantage in weedy amaranths?” Another major focus of the lab is on crop-related weeds, so a student may consider projects related to diverging adaptive pressures on weediness and domestication in systems such as millet, rice, sorghum, and sweet potato.
We aim to recruit a talented and curious graduate student (Master’s or PhD level) with a background in plant biology, weed science, evolutionary biology, plant breeding, and/or genomics. The student may have a background in weed science and an interested in learning evolutionary genetics, or vice versa. Our lab is relatively new, but we are building a dynamic, diverse, and interactive team. The lab and the NCSU graduate community as a whole is dedicated to both personal support and scientific excellence. The lab is based primarily in the Horticulture Department, but students may apply to the Crop Science or Genetics Graduate programs. Students may also consider the Genetics and Genomics Scholars program, which provides project-based training in genomics in the first year of grad school. Graduate students in NCSU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences typically complete a Master’s degree before proceeding to a 3-4 year PhD. For any of these options, however, the first step will be to send your CV and a short letter of interest or cover letter to Acer VanWallendael at [email protected].
Type of position
Graduate Student
Salary
30,600
Benefits
Location
2721 Founders Dr. NCSU Kilgore Hall, Raleigh, NC, NC 27607,
Closing Date
01/15/2025
Date Position Available
06/12/2024
North Carolina State University
The VanLab at North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC, USA) is aimed at understanding the genetics of rapid evolution in plants using field, greenhouse, lab, and bioinformatic approaches. We use weeds and invasive species as models with the twin goals of developing basic evolutionary understanding and improving weed management. More info about the lab: avanwallendael.github.io.