We are looking for an engaged graduate student to work on the evolutionary genetics of transposable elements in maize and its wild relatives. The position is funded by an NSF funded project and will focus on the population genetics of TEs within and between species. Opportunities exist to collaborate on a number of ongoing projects in the lab, along with additional labs involved in the project (Nathan Springer’s lab and Candace Hirsch’s lab at the University of Minnesota, Shawn Kaeppler’s lab at the University of Wisconsin, and Emily Josephs at Michigan State University). We believe in and value the power of diversity and applicants from historically underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

Ideal candidates will have some familiarity with transposable element biology, population genetics, and/or quantitative genetics, and experience with R, python, C++, or other programming languages is a plus. Nonetheless, we strongly encourage all motivated students with an interest in evolutionary biology and transposable elements to apply. UC Davis has programs in both plant and evolutionary biology. For additional information about the labs please visit rilab.org.