Virginia Tech is a public institution that was founded in 1872. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 29,760 (fall 2021), and the campus size is 2,600 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Virginia Tech’s ranking in the 2022-2023 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 62.
Disease Ecology and Conservation Lab: Joseph R Hoyt: Research in my lab lies at the intersection of disease ecology and conservation biology. I have worked on both applied and basic research questions primarily in emerging infectious disease of wildlife. Current projects in my lab involve exploring how host and pathogen dynamics differ across spatial and temporal timescales, how direct and indirect transmission influence disease epidemics within multi-host communities, and developing ecological solutions for reducing impacts from emerging wildlife diseases.
The Disease Ecology and Conservation lab at Virginia Tech is currently recruiting a Ph.D. student. Students will be expected to develop independent projects in disease ecology and evolution that complement work in the lab. Ongoing projects include empirical and theoretical work on emerging wildlife diseases, and a primary system of focus is white-nose syndrome in bats.
Potential research projects on white-nose syndrome include interactions between community dynamics, host behavior and pathogen transmission, environmental reservoir effects on host populations, and conservation of species imperiled by disease. Interested applicants should have a strong interest in disease ecology and evolution and a desire to translate science into conservation action. Students are expected to obtain quantitative skills, but existing knowledge is not a requirement. The current position is for a Ph.D. only.
Qualifications: Strong interest in disease ecology and evolution, and excellent communication skills.
How to apply:
Interested applicants should send an email: eMail jrhoyt@vt.edu with a brief statement of research interests and how that links to research in my lab, a CV, and list of at least three references to jrhoyt AT vt.edu with the subject “Prospective Graduate Student 2023”. Applicants should contact by December 5, 2022, but earlier is better.
Contact Person Joseph Hoyt Contact Phone 5189657120 Contact eMail jrhoyt@vt.edu
More details about work in the Hoyt lab can be found here (https://hoytresearch.org/)