PhD student. Washington State University, Plant Evolutionary Genetics

Washington State University, Plant Evolutionary Genetics The Busch lab at Washington State University is recruiting a Ph.D. student with broad interests in ecology and evolution. This student would begin in the fall of 2012 and be partially supported by a research assistantship that is part of a 5 year collaborative proposal funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The research program will examine the breakdown of self-incompatibility, to determine the mode and tempo whereby this complex adaptation is lost in nature. This proposal is conducted in collaboration with the lab of Dr. Christopher Herlihy at Middle Tennessee State University, and focuses on the mustard species
Leavenworthia alabamica as a model.
The Ph.D. student will be supported for 2 years on a 12 month basis. During this time, the student will lead manipulative field experiments, oversee undergraduate researchers in the field, and use population-genetic techniques to estimate
parentage and gene flow. Work conducted during the RA appointment would be expected to be part of a larger body of dissertation work that is open to the student. I expect that the incoming Ph.D. student would have broad interests in the maintenance of genetic variation and be fascinated by ecological and evolutionary processes.
Interested students should see the Busch laboratory homepage (http://sbs.wsu.edu/faculty/?faculty/148) to read about the diversity of
research topics that are being investigated by lab members.
The Ph.D. student would also be guaranteed monetary support during the remainder of their dissertation by serving as a teaching assistant.
To learn more about graduate studies in the School of Biological Sciences at WSU, please read further on our website http://sbs.wsu.edu/grad-studies
If you are interested in this opportunity for RA support and studying floral evolution for your Ph.D., please send me a CV and a statement outlining your motivation to pursue graduate studies in ecology and evolution.
Sincerely,
Jeremiah W. Busch
jwbusch[at]wsu.edu