The Heidinger and Greives labs are recruiting motivated PhD (preferred), or master’s students interested in joining a vibrant community of researchers that take an integrative approach to investigating the physiological mechanisms (e.g., molecular, endocrine) shaping avian life histories within an evolutionary context.

The Greives lab seeks to better understand the mechanisms that give rise to variation in life-history transitions (e.g., transition to breeding and/or migratory life-history stages) in birds including dark-eyed juncos and red-winged blackbirds. (https://sites.google.com/site/greiveslab)

The Heidinger lab examines the mechanisms that allow organisms to cope with stressors and respond to rapidly changing environments and that mediate life-history trade-offs across the lifespan. (https://sites.google.com/site/heidingerlab/home).

The graduate student would join a department with expertise in integrative organismal biology, ecophysiology, and evolutionary ecology, including three established and collaborative avian ecology and behavior/physiology labs (T. Greives, B. Heidinger, P. Klug).  Students will participate in either the Biological Sciences, Environmental and Conservation Sciences, or the Cellular and Molecular graduate program at NDSU.

Preferred qualifications include field experience handling and obtaining blood and tissue samples from small birds and/or experience with lab techniques including qPCR or ELISAs.

Competitive stipend funding and tuition waivers via teaching and/or research assistantships are available. If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Dr Britt Heidinger at Britt[dot]heidinger[at]ndsu[dot]edu and/or Dr. Tim Greives at timothy[dot]greives[at]ndsu[dot]edu.  Please include in your email your 1) research experiences as well as 2) your research interests and how these match with research in the Greives and/or Heidinger lab.  Also please 3) include your degree, GPA and two potential references.