funded opportunities
We are recruiting a PhD student to start in Fall 2023 as part of a large-scale, NSF-funded project with the VERENA Institute on the molecular foundations of the global virome, with a focus on the ecology and evolution of immunity in bats. Applicants should have an interest in bat immunology, phylogenetic comparative methods, data mining, and host–virus coevolution; experience in any of these topics and R coding is welcome but not required. A major part of this grant involves comparative analyses of serum proteomes from wild bats and their relation to viral data, but opportunities exist to add other molecular analyses, mine virus datasets, and develop predictive models. The position includes four years of GRA support at OU, funding for fieldwork and laboratory analyses, and access to a large collaborative network. Applicants should fill this interest form; please note that the initial application period is now closed.
graduate students
For the 2022–2023 application cycle, we will only be accepting a PhD student through the above-advertised opportunity on comparative bat immunology.
Prospective graduate students can be accepted through the Department of Biology (MS, PhD) and EEB graduate program (PhD). Work in the lab mostly focuses on bats and birds, but students should be primarily driven by questions and an interest in integrating some combination of field, computational, and molecular approaches. Graduate students should be keen to establish independent lines of research and will have the opportunity to build skills in pathogen discovery, immunology, epidemiological modeling, machine learning, and meta-analysis. To get an idea of different research directions in our group, see several key publications in Ecology Letters, Journal of Animal Ecology, Molecular Ecology, Proceedings B, Lancet Microbe, and Frontiers in Virology.
When specific funded opportunities to join the lab are not advertised above, prospective students should send an email to danbeck@ou.edu outlining their research experiences, interests, and possible topics of graduate study with their CV. Providing sufficient detail about possible questions you would like to ask for a MS or PhD is important, as it gives a good sense of how you think about science. The University of Oklahoma annual deadline is December 1st for students starting in August, so please get in touch well in advance. Students are encouraged to consider writing a fellowship (e.g., NSF GRFP or the Ford Foundation) to help develop their interests and maximize their independence. Otherwise, incoming graduate students can be supported by graduate teaching assistantships, though our group actively pursues state and federal grant opportunities to provide graduate research assistantships when possible.
The Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma has strong expertise in geographical ecology, animal behavior, aeroecology, and phylogenetics, and collaborative opportunities exist with the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Oklahoma Biological Survey. Students will have access to resources for molecular biology and genomics, stable isotope analyses, and supercomputing, alongside established field sites for bat and bird research in Oklahoma, Texas, and Belize. We also collaborate with researchers throughout North America, Central and South America, Europe, and Australia.
Prospective graduate students can be accepted through the Department of Biology (MS, PhD) and EEB graduate program (PhD). Work in the lab mostly focuses on bats and birds, but students should be primarily driven by questions and an interest in integrating some combination of field, computational, and molecular approaches. Graduate students should be keen to establish independent lines of research and will have the opportunity to build skills in pathogen discovery, immunology, epidemiological modeling, machine learning, and meta-analysis. To get an idea of different research directions in our group, see several key publications in Ecology Letters, Journal of Animal Ecology, Molecular Ecology, Proceedings B, Lancet Microbe, and Frontiers in Virology.
When specific funded opportunities to join the lab are not advertised above, prospective students should send an email to danbeck@ou.edu outlining their research experiences, interests, and possible topics of graduate study with their CV. Providing sufficient detail about possible questions you would like to ask for a MS or PhD is important, as it gives a good sense of how you think about science. The University of Oklahoma annual deadline is December 1st for students starting in August, so please get in touch well in advance. Students are encouraged to consider writing a fellowship (e.g., NSF GRFP or the Ford Foundation) to help develop their interests and maximize their independence. Otherwise, incoming graduate students can be supported by graduate teaching assistantships, though our group actively pursues state and federal grant opportunities to provide graduate research assistantships when possible.
The Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma has strong expertise in geographical ecology, animal behavior, aeroecology, and phylogenetics, and collaborative opportunities exist with the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Oklahoma Biological Survey. Students will have access to resources for molecular biology and genomics, stable isotope analyses, and supercomputing, alongside established field sites for bat and bird research in Oklahoma, Texas, and Belize. We also collaborate with researchers throughout North America, Central and South America, Europe, and Australia.
postdoctoral researchers
Prospective postdoctoral researchers are encouraged to collaborate on funding proposals to complement work in the lab. Possible funding sources include the NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology, NIH National Research Service Award, and Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellowships. We are especially interested in prospective researchers with strong track records in approaches complementary to those used in the lab, such as animal tracking technologies, metagenomics and bioinformatics, and phylodynamics. Postdoctoral researchers will be expected to contribute to a collaborative lab environment while also developing their own interests and future career trajectory. Please get in touch with a CV, summary of interests, and proposal ideas.
undergraduate students
We encourage undergraduates with interests in infectious disease, wildlife ecology, computational biology, or immunology to get in touch about potential research involvement. Opportunities exist to gain experience in fieldwork, pathogen diagnostics, mathematical modeling, and data synthesis. We suggest students commit 3–4 hours per week per credit hour. Paid seasonal positions are also offered in the spring semesters for bird fieldwork. Prospective undergraduates should send an email outlining their interests in the lab, their year and major, and their desired degree of involvement to danbeck@ou.edu.
