Rika Anderson's lab at Carleton (also known as the Space Hogs) is accepting applications for summer research assistants for summer 2017. Our research focuses on understanding trends in microbial evolution and ecology, with a specific focus on deep sea hydrothermal vents. We use large metagenomics datasets, which consist of lots of little pieces of DNA taken directly from the environment, to ask what types of microbes and viruses exist in the deep sea, how their diversity changes from one place to the next, and how they evolve. All student projects are entirely bioinformatics-based (no wet lab research) and will give students the opportunity to engage in analysis of large genomics datasets.
This summer, we will have projects focused on examining patterns of microbial metabolism in a specific sets of deep-sea hydrothermal vents in order to determine the extent to which geochemistry determines microbial metabolism and gene expression, and we will explore evolutionary dynamics of microbial populations in deep-sea hydrothermal vents. We are also examining trends in viral ecology and biogeography from the surface oceans to the deep sea and into hydrothermal vents. Depending on funding, we may also work on using bioinformatics and phylogenetics tools to reconstruct microbial metabolism in deep Earth history.
Positions will be for 8-10 weeks beginning in late June and continuing until mid-late August (starting dates are flexible). Students will work 40 hours per week and be paid the standard stipend rate set by Carleton ($3600 for 8 weeks). Preference will be given to students who have taken the Genomics and Bioinformatics course and lab (BIOL 338/339), but we encourage students of all backgrounds and levels of research experience to apply. Review of applications will begin on March 1, 2018.
If interested, submit an application here.