The Zhang Lab in the Department of Integrative Biology at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, is keen to recruit two bright and highly motivated graduate students (one M.S. and one Ph.D.) to join our lab for Spring/Fall 2023. Our lab is interested in understanding and predicting how global changes and anthropogenic disturbances affect ecological dynamics at regional and global scales via scaling up individual behaviors and interactions between organisms and environments.
We are particularly interested in identifying optimal movement strategies in heterogeneous environments, characterizing the roles of stressor spatial distribution and stress avoidance on selecting an optimal movement strategy, and understanding how temporally fluctuating environments determine evolution of movement strategy. We use laboratory system of nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to perform competition experiments and develop new mathematical theory based on empirical data. Students will also be encouraged to develop their projects under the lab’s general interest.
Check out some of the publications:
Zhang, B., K. Lam, W. Ni, R. Signorelli, K. Collins, Z. Fu, L. Zhai, Y. Lou, D. DeAngelis, A. Hastings. 2022. Directed movement changes coexistence outcomes in heterogeneous environments. Ecology Letters. 25: 366 – 377.
Zhang, B., A. Kula, K.M.L. Mack, L. Zhai, A.L. Ryce1, W. Ni, D.L. DeAngelis, J. D. Van Dyken. 2017. Carrying capacity in a heterogeneous environment with habitat connection. Ecology Letters 20: 1118-1128.
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Salary/Benefit: Graduate students are supported by teaching assistantships, research assistantships, or fellowships. Graduate teaching assistantship are readily available, and the 9-month stipend is $19,944 (for M.S. students) and $23,175 (for Ph.D. students).
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Qualifications: Applicants should have: 1) A B.S. in biology, ecology, or a related field; 2) An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. Desired qualifications include: 1) Laboratory experience such as pipetting, weighing, making chemical solutions; and 2) Willingness to learn computer programming skills.
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Applications: If you are interested in working with me, I strongly recommend that you reach out to me before applying for graduate study. Applicants must create a single PDF with the name containing the first and last name of applicant. Send the PDF to Dr. Bo Zhang by email to: bozhang@okstate.edu before November 10, 2022. The PDF must contain: 1) A brief research interest; 2) Curriculum Vitae or resumé; and 3) Names and contact information for three professional references. We no longer require GRE scores.
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Location and facilities: Oklahoma State University is classified as R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The university is a land grant institution with an enrollment of about 25,000 students located midway between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The Department of Integrative Biology takes an integrative approach to research in organismal biology, focusing on increasing our knowledge of organisms and their environments through studies ranging from the molecular to the ecosystem levels. We have a friendly and collegial department with a very active graduate student community. Our faculty work in areas of ecology, evolution, behavior, physiology, and ecotoxicology.