Joining the lab
We're always looking for graduate students, undergraduates, and postdocs who want to work on evolutionary biology with a layer of AI in the pipeline. Everyone here, including the PI, operates to the same set of explicit expectations.
Lab meetings
Fridays at 11:00 AM in BSBW 425. Required for all members. If we're discussing a paper, come with at least one question or comment. Zoom: https://tamu.zoom.us/j/580704236
Expectations
Role All lab members 6 expectations
- Attend lab meetings
- Take ownership and responsibility for assigned projects and tasks
- Take care of our space (clean up after yourself)
- Arrive at scheduled meetings on time and prepared
- Participate in lab functions
- Respond to all emails within 24 hours
Role Graduate students 7 expectations
- Attend weekly seminars and job seminars
- Attend journal club
- Apply for grants/fellowships
- Present research at conferences
- Mentor one or more undergraduate
- Publish 3 papers during PhD
- Read all standard lab readings prior to end of second year
Role Undergraduate students 2 expectations
- Devote a minimum of 10 hours a week to lab work
- Contribute to discussions in lab meeting
Role Postdoctoral researchers 2 expectations
- Mentor graduate students
- Apply for fellowships/jobs
Role Dr. Blackmon 3 expectations
- Meet with students at scheduled times
- Give feedback on papers/applications within 2 weeks max
- Secure funding for lab
How to apply
Prospective graduate students Apply through TAMU Biology or EEB Email Heath before you apply.
Applications go through the TAMU Biology PhD program or the TAMU Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB) interdisciplinary PhD program. Before you submit, email Heath so we can talk about fit and whether the lab is recruiting in your area. Strong computational grounding helps but is not required. Willingness to read primary literature, break things, and recover is required.
Undergraduates at TAMU Two ways in Minimum 10 hours per week from day one.
The first path is the Biology & AI CURE, a course-based undergraduate research experience where each student runs an original comparative project. The second path is a direct email to Heath with a short pitch for a project you'd like to work on. Either way, the lab expects a minimum of 10 hours per week, lab-meeting participation, and ownership of whatever you take on.
Postdocs and collaborators Email directly TraitTrawler and comparative-methods collaborations especially welcome.
Postdoc inquiries and outside collaborations go through direct email. We are actively looking for partners who want to point TraitTrawler at a new clade or trait, and for comparative-methods collaborations on sex chromosomes, karyotype evolution, and epistasis. The fastest path is a short email describing what you want to do.