Virtually every piece of research in our Lab is about fish, fisheries, ecology, or conservation issues. And all of it follows the motto that Science ought to make a real-world difference.
We mainly work on fish and fisheries issues in tropical regions. A lot of the research is in Brazil and in the Amazon, but we also work or have worked in the Great Lakes, Africa, Arctic, Pacific and other places, and are always on the lookout for new interesting projects anywhere.
Much of our research has centered on understanding fish and fisheries ecology and conservation in large rivers, including arapaima, multispecies fisheries, and the effects of deforestation, dam construction, overfishing, and changes in river hydrology. As we pursue research focused on solving real problems, we tend to use a broad range of methods and sometimes delve into the social sciences and integrate varied disciplinary tools.
If this seems like a place you’d like to join, here are a few things to consider:
1. Getting into Graduate School:
– Suitability — I need to know that this lab’s research approach works for you and that your profile works for the lab. I get about an application a week, so I urge you to read this blog post on Conservation Bytes. For me, candidates need to demonstrate they have potential to become great students and have a history of involvement in research and ideally have published one or more papers.
– Funding — A graduate student at Virginia Tech costs over $40,000 USD per year, plus travel and fieldwork expenses. Funding to support graduate is very limited. If I have grant funds to recruit students, I advertise the position in the Home and News section of the website, and I indicate when those positions are filled. If I have an open position, I encourage you to submit an application. If you are applying but do not fit within any available source of funds, we’d need to find funding. Virginia Tech has a few scholarships available, but most are to complement existing funds. Students that have their own funding from their home country, or will apply to funding (e.g., NSF Graduate Research Fellowship), have more chances of acceptance into the program.
– Paperwork — I always encourage students to contact me first with their own interest. If based on my screening and subsequent communication I see promise, I ask the students to submit a formal application via the Graduate School, which is going to be processed and then sent to my department for “official” review by all the Faculty. I am interested in students from all countries, and if you are from a country whose language is not English, consider the Graduate School’s requirements of English proficiency.
2. If you already have a PhD and are looking for a Postdoc or just a collaboration, let me know. I am always on the lookout for collaborations.
3. If you are an undergraduate student and are looking for research experience, let me know. I encourage all my graduate students to work closely with an undergrad so both can help each other out, and often undergrads in my lab lead their own scientific papers, or at a minimum become coauthors of papers in the lab.