Join the Lab!

The Turcotte lab is looking for curious and motivated students and postdocs interested in addressing ecological and evolutionary questions using integrative methods. My philosophy as a mentor is to guide and create opportunities for students in order for them to become well-rounded independent researchers. 

PITT AND PITTSBURGH

The University of Pittsburgh is a leading research university and the Department of Biological Sciences is a dynamic and growing team of enthusiastic researchers and educators. Students can be co-advised by faculty at The Carnegie Museum of Natural History, The Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens among other institutions. The department also runs the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology , which is equipped with lab space and housing to facilitate field-based research in northwestern Pennsylvania.
     The City of Pittsburgh is a vibrant and beautiful place to live (info). It is often voted the ‘Most Livable city in the U.S.’ (info). One of the many reasons is how affordable it is to rent or own a home in the city within walking distance of campus. Important for my family, Pittsburgh has a fantastic food scene (info) and a diverse and growing Arts & Entertainment scene.  

Postdocs

 Self-funded: I am always interested in chatting with postdocs that are self-funded or that are applying for their own funding to work on ecology, evolution, or evolutionary ecology. You could already have a project idea or we can develop one together. Please email me if that is the case. 

Prospective Graduate Students

I am currently recruiting 2 PhD students to begin in Fall 2024 focusing on:

1) Rapid evolution in response to environmental pollution using experimental evolution. The research would utilize our rapid and manipulatable duckweed system allowing for a combination of field, mesocosm, and lab experiments.

2) The student will utilize our rapidly growing experimental duckweed system to test various hypotheses concerning the benefits and limitations of whole genome duplication (polyploidy). This student would be co-advised with Dr. Tia-Lynn Ashman.

Please contact me turcotte@pitt.edu (and Dr. Ashman tia1@pitt.edu for position #2)  to express interest and describe your past research experience. Please include your C.V., any publications, and contact information for a few references. 

Prospective Undergraduates

Many opportunities exist for undergraduate students to gain research experience. These include independent research projects, collaborative projects with graduate students, or simply volunteering. Interested students should contact me (turcotte@pitt.edu) to discuss possibilities. In the email, please tell me why you are interesting in joining the lab and please attach a C.V. and an unofficial copy of your grades.