Dr. Keith Choe is seeking applicants for new graduate students in the Biology department at the University of Florida.
The Choe Lab defines molecular mechanisms animals use to detect and respond to environmental stress and studies how these pathways interact with physiological processes such as stress resistance, ageing, drug resistance, growth, and reproduction. We study these processes in the free-living model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans using a variety of physiological, genetic, molecular, cell biology, and biochemical approaches. Stress pathways underlie adaptations to environmental stress in animals, contribute to drug resistance in parasites, and have the potential to delay aging and age-related diseases in humans.
We also have an ongoing interest in chemical biology. In collaboration with medicinal chemists and structural biologist, we have a new project to identify biological activity of novel natural product molecules. C. elegans is one of the only animal models amenable to in vivo high-throughput screening. After biological activity is identified, C. elegans biological knowledge, genetic tractability, and community resources will be leveraged to define molecular mechanisms. Natural products are reservoirs of novel research and therapeutic agents and C. elegans is well-suited to screening and chemical genetics.
Teaching and research assistant-ships are available that include tuition wavers and stipends.
Choelab website: https://choelab.weebly.com/
UF Biology Graduate program: https://biology.ufl.edu/graduate-programs/
UF Biology Graduate application: https://biology.ufl.edu/graduate-programs/application/
If interested, please contact Keith Choe at kchoe@ufl.edu.
Application deadline is December 1st, 2022.