Prospective Graduate Students
Graduate students typically come to ESF via 2 funding mechanisms (possibly a combination of both). These being a departmental teaching assistantship or on a grant-funded position. The latter depends on what grants are currently ongoing, and these opening are usually advertised broadly. Such projects are also more confined to the aims of the grant. On a teaching assistant position, students are supported by helping with classes in the department. This doesn't required an existing grant and is a bit more flexible in terms of project scope. Teaching assistantships are awarded competitively to the top applicants each year based primarily on GPA and GRE; but also other factors (e.g., prior publications, prior MS degree, etc.).
Some general topic areas that would be possible for a student on a TA:
Control of diseases in zebrafish and development of diagnostics
Ideal for someone interested in aquatic animal husbandry, microbial diseases, and molecular biology. Design and troubleshoot diagnostics. Set up experiments to evaluate transmission or test vaccines/treatment. Explore genetic diversity of pathogens in aquatic systems.
Biodiversity of myxozoan parasites
Ideal for a student interested in parasite biodiversity and application of DNA sequence analysis to evaluate biodiversity. Collect and diagnose fish in the field. Microscopy and imaging. Preservation and purification of DNA. PCR, sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis.
Parasite biodiversity in fishes
Ideal for students interested in fisheries, parasite ecology, and fish health. Explore diversity of parasites collected from the field to answer appropriate research questions (e.g., host specificity, diversity, seasonality, invasive species, etc.). Parasitological techniques. Data analyses.
Some general topic areas that would be possible for a student on a TA:
Control of diseases in zebrafish and development of diagnostics
Ideal for someone interested in aquatic animal husbandry, microbial diseases, and molecular biology. Design and troubleshoot diagnostics. Set up experiments to evaluate transmission or test vaccines/treatment. Explore genetic diversity of pathogens in aquatic systems.
Biodiversity of myxozoan parasites
Ideal for a student interested in parasite biodiversity and application of DNA sequence analysis to evaluate biodiversity. Collect and diagnose fish in the field. Microscopy and imaging. Preservation and purification of DNA. PCR, sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis.
Parasite biodiversity in fishes
Ideal for students interested in fisheries, parasite ecology, and fish health. Explore diversity of parasites collected from the field to answer appropriate research questions (e.g., host specificity, diversity, seasonality, invasive species, etc.). Parasitological techniques. Data analyses.