Want to Join the lab?Want to work at the interface between behavioural ecology, comparative physiology, and evolutionary biology?
Want to work in the field and/or conduct comparative or quantitative genetics studies? Want to learn critical skills for a successful career in biology? Email me with a description of your areas of interest and previous research (or other relevant) experience. Be aware that university professors receive many emails requesting graduate positions, but there are ways to make sure you get on my radar screen (see link to Neufield 2015 below). Also, there are a few things you might want to consider before enrolling into grad school. See various links and instructions below. We are seeking graduate students interested to tackle possible explanations to the "paradox of stasis". In doing so, graduate students will work at the interface of comparative physiology, animal behaviour, and evolutionary biology, study how metabolic, behavioural, life-history, and performance traits co-vary at various levels using diverse tools from the comparative and quantitative genetic approaches. Graduate students can conduct lab- and/or field-based projects through which they will learn techniques related to field ecology, animal husbandry, metabolic and behavioural sampling, multivariate statistics, scientific writing, and survival in academia.
Things to considerHere is a list of useful advice to future graduate students:
Neufield 2015: How to approach a professor for a graduate position Stearns 1987: Some modest advice for graduate students Huey 1987: Reply to Stearns: Some acynical advice for graduate students Binkley 1988: Some advice for graduate advisors Witz 1994: Hybridization of Stearns, Huey, and Binkley Garland 201X: Undergraduate research Bertram 201X: Email etiquette Paths to (academic) success Here is a list of useful advice to graduate students: Graeme Hirst: How to be a terrible graduate student Scott Keogh's advice on everything in acedemia! Bartholomew 1982: on scientific innovation and creativity Andrew Hendry:
Tips for efficient writing in science: Sources of FundingUniversity of Ottawa admission scolarship
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC): Fonds de Recherche Nature et Technologies (FQRNT): Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS) More informationUndergraduate Honours and Graduate Programs in Biology
Undergraduate research projects (BIO4004 & BIO4009) Financial Aid and Scholarships Faculty of Graduate and Postgraduate Studies Apply uOttawa opportunitiesIn addition to the funded opportunities in the lab (currently only one, see here), I will always consider any interested potential graduate students or postdocs who have a clear idea of what they want to do and have their own funding (see above).
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How to contact me for a graduate position (instructions)
You might think this is a little bit overboard for emailing a university professor, but following these instructions will maximize chances your email does not automatically end up in my trash folder:
Additional general suggestions on how to fix common issues in applications and improve your chances to be invited for an interview:
- Make sure you follow the general advice included in Neufield (2015; see link above).
- Customise your email to your situation and my research laboratory:
- Explain WHY you are interested in graduate school under my supervision. Ideally, my research group came up while you conducted a thorough search on the web and in the literature to find a supervisor who works on a topic you are interested. Or maybe you discussed graduate research with one of your current/past professors, and they suggested you contact me. In any case, let me know and please be honest. It could be that your personal situation restricts you to the Ottawa region for the upcoming years, which is totally fine, but you still have to explain why you are interested in graduate school under my supervision versus another prof in Ottawa.
- Do your homework and read some of my papers to find aspects of my research program that interest you the most. Are you primarily interested in behavioural ecology, evolutionary physiology, quantitative genetics, or a combination of these? Do you prefer lab-, field-, or literature-based work? In any case, you should demonstrate that you have an idea of the sort of work we do and how it aligns with your interests. One of the most important factor in graduate school is the alignment between the supervisor and student research interests.
- Many prospective students contact me with prior research experience in a field that is completely unrelated to mine (e.g., cancer, pharmacology, biotechnology, toxicology, chemical engineering, etc.). If your background is not directly in line with my research, then you obviously have to make extra effort to explain why you are contacting me. Otherwise, I am sorry but your email is considered spam.
- The subject of your email should be: “Tackling the paradox of stasis”. I receive many more emails than I can reasonably give attention to. Naming your email “Tackling the paradox of stasis” will indicate that you read through these instructions, and in return, I will read through your email!
- Clearly indicate which study systems you would like to work on. It is OK to list more than one study system, but please rank in order of preference.
Additional general suggestions on how to fix common issues in applications and improve your chances to be invited for an interview:
- Apply only for positions for which you are qualified.
- Read the ad carefully: submit all required files.
- If the ad mention experience or skills, then elaborate on these points in your letter. Failing to do so conveys the message that you are not a careful reader or lack the required skills.
- Writing is hugely important in all branches of science. The PI will read the cover letter and email to check how good of a writer you are. While graduate students still grow as writers, spelling, grammar and formatting mistakes are a NO-GO in your email and documents.
- It's important to express your motivation, but many letters failed to address how the lab would benefit from the applicant (experience, skills, and attitude). Tune down on why the position is important to you and focus more on how the other side would benefit from you.
- Don't ask the PI to send you the information you could easily google, like admission criteria or our website URL.
- Do no copy and paste from the lab website, e.g. "I am interested in … [change font] copy&paste 1 from lab website, copy&paste 2, ...". Describe your interests honestly. If necessary, explain why you are contemplating a change in disciplines.
- Look up what the lab is doing: visit the website, read the papers. When doing so, if you have an idea for a follow-up study, then make sure to include this because it shows your interest.
- Never ask the PI to recommend you to other PIs. Recommending a stranger is a strange thing to do. You look unprofessional and "needy" when you ask for that.
- When applying to a lab, avoid anonymous addressing, e.g. "Dear Madam/Sir"; simply address PIs as "Dr."
Graduate Research in the BEEP lab
Some information about my supervision style… Once accepted in my lab, graduate students receive a practical guide outlining the overall lab philosophy (the infamous DO’s and DONT’s). This document includes some “golden rules” in the lab such as: celebrate your accomplishments, be passionate, learn to deal with uncertainty, embrace the bumps in the road, be part of the team, attitude is more important that aptitude, understand readers’ expectations, learn keyboard shortcuts, do your paperwork, etc. The document also includes a list of things graduate students can and can’t expect from me and what I expect from them. The document includes many tips for success in graduate school.
One of the most rewarding aspect of my job is to witness graduate students mature and gain self-confidence through their degree. It is such a critical time, and I do my best to help graduate students navigate the many highs and lows that are typical of grad school. This comes in many forms, but overall, I think my graduate students would say I am an authentic, approachable, passionate, and careful but sometimes silly supervisor. I am truly passionate about science and I cherish academic freedom. I always tell my graduate students the ultimate goal is that, by the end of their degree, they have gained 100% self-confidence that they will succeed in anything they undertake, given that they put in the same effort, energy, and passion as they did in their thesis.
One of the most rewarding aspect of my job is to witness graduate students mature and gain self-confidence through their degree. It is such a critical time, and I do my best to help graduate students navigate the many highs and lows that are typical of grad school. This comes in many forms, but overall, I think my graduate students would say I am an authentic, approachable, passionate, and careful but sometimes silly supervisor. I am truly passionate about science and I cherish academic freedom. I always tell my graduate students the ultimate goal is that, by the end of their degree, they have gained 100% self-confidence that they will succeed in anything they undertake, given that they put in the same effort, energy, and passion as they did in their thesis.