New York, NY
The Rubenstein lab at Columbia University is recruiting PhD students interested in studying the evolution of complex animal societies and/or how organisms adapt to and cope with environmental change. We are particularly interested in applicants looking to integrate studies of behavior, evolution, ecology, endocrinology, neuroscience, and genomics. Current projects include a long-term study of cooperatively breeding superb starlings in Kenya where we are interested in determining how environmental variation influences behavior, life history, and physiology. Recently, we have expanded our work to multiple sites across Kenya along a broad-scale precipitation gradient to understand how birds adapt to environmental change. A newly sequenced genome of the superb starling is enabling us to study the molecular mechanisms (e.g., gene expression, genetic architecture, epigenetic markers) underlying behavioral and physiological adaptation to climatic variation.
Qualifications:
Prospective students should have extensive field and/or lab experience, including having conducted their own independent research. MA degrees are preferred but not required to join the PhD program.
Compensation:
Students admitted to the PhD program in Environmental Biology will be offered up to five years of support, including a generous stipend, subsidized housing to live in New York City, and modest research funds. They will join a vibrant Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, and also become affiliated with Columbia’s new Center for Integrative Animal Behavior. During their time at Columbia, they are also likely to work closely with colleagues from the American Museum of Natural History and the New York Genome Center.
To Apply:
Interested applicants should visit the Department’s webpage (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/e3b/), and send Dr. Dustin Rubenstein a copy of your CV and brief description of the work that you would like to do in graduate school (dr2497@columbia.edu).
