Prospective Graduate Students - The lab is currently considering applications only for prospective PhD students for Fall 2025. Check the website at the Department of Biological Sciences for requirements and application procedures for admission. We are especially interested in highly motivated students with a curiosity for nature, strong quantitative and writing skills, and ability to work independently in the field. Prospective students should have previous experience working in tropical environments, and willingness to combine theory, tropical field work, and lab work. When submitting an inquiry, please explain your specific interest in applying to our lab.
Link to Admissions to the Biology PhD program: https://case.fiu.edu/biology/phd-in-biology/
The deadline for Fall 2025 application along with consideration for Teaching Assistantship and Fellowships is the first week of December 2024 - we recommend submitting by end October to avoid issues with missing transcripts (see below).
Every year the Department organizes the Biosymposium. This event is a celebration of research conducted by Graduate Students in the Biological Sciences at FIU. The purpose of the meeting is to allow students to present their projects and results in a friendly, yet professional, atmosphere. At the same time, the entire Department of Biological Sciences benefits as people become familiar with the work of others. The Symposium is also an opportunity for prospective graduate students applying to the Department to become familiar with the work of current graduate students, and to meet with the faculty and student body. The 2024 Biosymposium will be on February 1st, 2025. If interested in attending the event, please register before January 12.
Fellowship opportunities at FIU: Our University Graduate School offers several fellowships to both incoming and current graduate students. We have four fellowship for prospective students: Presidential, McKnight, Latin American and Caribbean Graduate Student, and FIU Inclusion Fellowships. You can read more about these fellowships at https://gradschool.fiu.edu/students/funding/fellowships. Prospective students do not apply to these Fellowships directly, instead the Department's Graduate Committee selects students to nominate to the University Graduate School.
VERY IMPORTANT: Applications are received by the Admissions Office, which only refers them to the Department of Biological Sciences when they are complete. Check all requirements here https://admissions.fiu.edu/how-to-apply/graduate-applicant/admission-requirements/index.html. Official university/college transcripts from all institutions previously attended need to be mailed in a sealed institution envelope from the university/college to the FIU Admissions Office. Photocopies, transcripts mailed from applicants, faxed or emailed transcripts are NOT acceptable. The only way to transfer transcripts electronically is by using the EDI system (https://www.1edisource.com/edi-transcripts-colleges-universities/), in case you attended a participating institution. CHECK online the status of your applications to make sure Admissions has received and approved your transcripts before the closing date (around first week of January for the Department).
FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: Check this page: https://admissions.fiu.edu/international/graduate-school/. Also, see the checklist at https://admissions.fiu.edu/international/_assets/docs/new-fiu-int.-grad-checklist-3-30-2020.pdf
Funding opportunities for prospective students:
Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/FordFellowships/PGA_171962
Visit this page for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program competition: research.gov/grfp/Login.do
McKnight Doctoral Fellowships: https://www.fefonline.org/mdf.html
Lab analyses - We perform a variety of qPCR-based assays for research purposes. We routinely detect amphibian chytrid fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and B. salamandrivorans in single (both Sybr Green and Taqman/probe-based) or duplex reactions from skin swab or filter samples (eDNA detection in water or other environmental samples). We also run qPCR analyses for other pathogens such as Ranavirus, Clostridium tetani (tetanus), Chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5), and Salmonella enterica, as well as development of custom-based primer and qPCR probes for species identification, eDNA detection, etc. Contact us for further details.
Link to Admissions to the Biology PhD program: https://case.fiu.edu/biology/phd-in-biology/
The deadline for Fall 2025 application along with consideration for Teaching Assistantship and Fellowships is the first week of December 2024 - we recommend submitting by end October to avoid issues with missing transcripts (see below).
Every year the Department organizes the Biosymposium. This event is a celebration of research conducted by Graduate Students in the Biological Sciences at FIU. The purpose of the meeting is to allow students to present their projects and results in a friendly, yet professional, atmosphere. At the same time, the entire Department of Biological Sciences benefits as people become familiar with the work of others. The Symposium is also an opportunity for prospective graduate students applying to the Department to become familiar with the work of current graduate students, and to meet with the faculty and student body. The 2024 Biosymposium will be on February 1st, 2025. If interested in attending the event, please register before January 12.
Fellowship opportunities at FIU: Our University Graduate School offers several fellowships to both incoming and current graduate students. We have four fellowship for prospective students: Presidential, McKnight, Latin American and Caribbean Graduate Student, and FIU Inclusion Fellowships. You can read more about these fellowships at https://gradschool.fiu.edu/students/funding/fellowships. Prospective students do not apply to these Fellowships directly, instead the Department's Graduate Committee selects students to nominate to the University Graduate School.
VERY IMPORTANT: Applications are received by the Admissions Office, which only refers them to the Department of Biological Sciences when they are complete. Check all requirements here https://admissions.fiu.edu/how-to-apply/graduate-applicant/admission-requirements/index.html. Official university/college transcripts from all institutions previously attended need to be mailed in a sealed institution envelope from the university/college to the FIU Admissions Office. Photocopies, transcripts mailed from applicants, faxed or emailed transcripts are NOT acceptable. The only way to transfer transcripts electronically is by using the EDI system (https://www.1edisource.com/edi-transcripts-colleges-universities/), in case you attended a participating institution. CHECK online the status of your applications to make sure Admissions has received and approved your transcripts before the closing date (around first week of January for the Department).
FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: Check this page: https://admissions.fiu.edu/international/graduate-school/. Also, see the checklist at https://admissions.fiu.edu/international/_assets/docs/new-fiu-int.-grad-checklist-3-30-2020.pdf
Funding opportunities for prospective students:
Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/FordFellowships/PGA_171962
Visit this page for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program competition: research.gov/grfp/Login.do
McKnight Doctoral Fellowships: https://www.fefonline.org/mdf.html
Lab analyses - We perform a variety of qPCR-based assays for research purposes. We routinely detect amphibian chytrid fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and B. salamandrivorans in single (both Sybr Green and Taqman/probe-based) or duplex reactions from skin swab or filter samples (eDNA detection in water or other environmental samples). We also run qPCR analyses for other pathogens such as Ranavirus, Clostridium tetani (tetanus), Chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5), and Salmonella enterica, as well as development of custom-based primer and qPCR probes for species identification, eDNA detection, etc. Contact us for further details.