funded opportunities
Laboratory technician
We have funding from several private and federal organizations to support a laboratory technician for at least 2 years in our group at OU, focused on immunology and virology research. Tasks will primarily include total nucleic acid extractions from bat oral and rectal swab samples, PCR and RT-PCR for DNA and RNA viruses, preparing amplicons for Sanger sequencing, quality control of sequence data, total and differential white blood cell counts, and preparing bat plasma samples for proteomic analyses. The technician will also be responsible for general molecular laboratory upkeep and organization. The technician will play a core role in our group and participate in regular project meetings, contribute to manuscript preparation, and collaborate on additional projects. Opportunities also exist to lead independent projects and to assist with occasional bat fieldwork in Oklahoma, Texas, Panama, and Belize. Core requirements include attention to detail as well as prior experience working with RNA viruses, microscopy, and preparing chemical reagents.
Applicants can apply via OU Taleo. Annual salary will be $35,000–39,000 depending on experience (plus benefits), with a start date in June or July 2024.
PhD student on bat virus dynamics
We are recruiting a PhD student for a new collaborative project on the interplay between bat behavior and virus dynamics in molossid bats, focused on those in the genera Molossus and Mops in Belize and Kenya, respectively. The successful applicant will conduct seasonal sampling of Molossus bats in Belize, track movement among natural and anthropogenic roosts using PIT tag readers, and build single- and multi-population epidemiological models to study viral dynamics, with a focus on coronaviruses and lyssaviruses. The student will also occasionally assist with fieldwork in Kenya. Partial GRA support will be available for three years (one semester and the summer) plus GTA support. We anticipate a start date of August 2024 or January 2025, and the PhD applicant would be accepted outside OU's traditional application deadline. Please complete this form by end of April to be considered for this position.
Seasonal bat field assistant
We are also looking for 1–2 hourly field assistants to help with our monthly bat fieldwork in western Oklahoma during May–October 2024 (with possible extension into March–October 2025). Fieldwork will primarily consist of 2–3 nights per month (largely over weekends) for $13–15/hour. Prior bat or other small mammal experience is required. See our Texas A&M Job Board posting for more details; a resume and cover letter can be sent to [email protected].
We have funding from several private and federal organizations to support a laboratory technician for at least 2 years in our group at OU, focused on immunology and virology research. Tasks will primarily include total nucleic acid extractions from bat oral and rectal swab samples, PCR and RT-PCR for DNA and RNA viruses, preparing amplicons for Sanger sequencing, quality control of sequence data, total and differential white blood cell counts, and preparing bat plasma samples for proteomic analyses. The technician will also be responsible for general molecular laboratory upkeep and organization. The technician will play a core role in our group and participate in regular project meetings, contribute to manuscript preparation, and collaborate on additional projects. Opportunities also exist to lead independent projects and to assist with occasional bat fieldwork in Oklahoma, Texas, Panama, and Belize. Core requirements include attention to detail as well as prior experience working with RNA viruses, microscopy, and preparing chemical reagents.
Applicants can apply via OU Taleo. Annual salary will be $35,000–39,000 depending on experience (plus benefits), with a start date in June or July 2024.
PhD student on bat virus dynamics
We are recruiting a PhD student for a new collaborative project on the interplay between bat behavior and virus dynamics in molossid bats, focused on those in the genera Molossus and Mops in Belize and Kenya, respectively. The successful applicant will conduct seasonal sampling of Molossus bats in Belize, track movement among natural and anthropogenic roosts using PIT tag readers, and build single- and multi-population epidemiological models to study viral dynamics, with a focus on coronaviruses and lyssaviruses. The student will also occasionally assist with fieldwork in Kenya. Partial GRA support will be available for three years (one semester and the summer) plus GTA support. We anticipate a start date of August 2024 or January 2025, and the PhD applicant would be accepted outside OU's traditional application deadline. Please complete this form by end of April to be considered for this position.
Seasonal bat field assistant
We are also looking for 1–2 hourly field assistants to help with our monthly bat fieldwork in western Oklahoma during May–October 2024 (with possible extension into March–October 2025). Fieldwork will primarily consist of 2–3 nights per month (largely over weekends) for $13–15/hour. Prior bat or other small mammal experience is required. See our Texas A&M Job Board posting for more details; a resume and cover letter can be sent to [email protected].
graduate students
Prospective graduate students can be accepted into the School of Biological Sciences (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 some core lab publications in Ecology Letters, Journal of Animal Ecology, Proceedings B, Lancet Microbe, One Health, and Frontiers in Immunology.
When specific funded opportunities to join the lab are not advertised above, prospective students should send an email to [email protected] 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 School of Biological Sciences at the University of Oklahoma has strong expertise in biogeography, animal behavior, and aeroecology. Students will have access to infrastructure including but not limited to molecular biology, proteomics, and supercomputing, alongside established field sites for wild bat and bird research in Oklahoma, Texas, Belize, and Panama. We also regularly collaborate with teams across the Americas and Europe and in Kenya and Australia.
When specific funded opportunities to join the lab are not advertised above, prospective students should send an email to [email protected] 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 School of Biological Sciences at the University of Oklahoma has strong expertise in biogeography, animal behavior, and aeroecology. Students will have access to infrastructure including but not limited to molecular biology, proteomics, and supercomputing, alongside established field sites for wild bat and bird research in Oklahoma, Texas, Belize, and Panama. We also regularly collaborate with teams across the Americas and Europe and in Kenya 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 often 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 [email protected].