Join the lab

Please reach out to me via email if you have any questions about our work! See below for info on open positions and other ways to join the lab!

Diversity in all forms is celebrated in this lab. This can be reflected by many aspects of one’s identity including ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, race, gender identity, religious affiliation, citizenship status, neurodiversity, disability status, sexual orientation, and diversity of thought. We are all shaped by our life experiences and science is better when it is built on contributions and pushback from a variety of perspectives.

Open positions:

  1. Postdoctoral research associate - two+ years: ecological HGT project

    • Mostly data analysis; must have prior experience working with metagenomic data

  2. PhD student - focus area TBD

    • Let’s work together to come up with a project idea within one or more of the lab’s research areas that will result in an exciting and productive PhD! Generally, you will be expected to do both wet lab and computational work, with some fieldwork opportunities if you are interested.

The positions advertised above are funded but I am always happy to take grad students and postdocs through fellowships that we can prepare together. The funding situation in this country is precarious right now, but here are some opportunities that are applicable to the work we do here:

For PhD students:

  1. Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution - LOI due July (full app due following May), can have Master’s and apply!

  2. NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) - typically due in late Fall

  3. NASA Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) - typically due in Winter

  4. HHMI Gilliam Fellows program - not sure of 2026 due date yet; for students and faculty mentors committed to advancing inclusion

For postdocs:

  1. NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology (PRFB) - typically due in Fall

  2. NSF Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (OCE-PRF) - typically due in Fall

  3. Simons Postdoctoral Fellowship in Marine Microbial Biology - not sure when due (they might have canceled this)

  4. Simons Postdoctoral Fellowship in Plant Science - likely due in late Winter (would love to try for one of these!)

  5. EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowships - rolling due date with July end; must move countries (for EU applicants only)

  6. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships - due early September; must move countries (for EU applicants only)

  7. The Branco Weiss Fellowship (Society in Science) - due in October; for big ideas that are not considered “mainstream”

  8. HHMI Hannah H. Gray Fellows Program - not sure of 2026 due date yet

  9. Human Frontier Science Program Postdoctoral Fellowship - process begins May and due September; must move countries

  10. Life Sciences Research Foundation Award - not sure of 2026 due date yet

  11. NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) - we aren’t eligible to take NPP postdocs yet but this is a great program and I’m applying for NASA grants right now which may open us up to this in the future

    Please let me know if you are interested in trying for one or more of these fellowships (or if you have another in mind)!

To apply for any position in this lab, please send a CV, writing sample, and a brief description (<1 page) of YOUR research interests and goals to juliave -at- umd -dot- edu.