[Taxacom] Insect Systematics Research at the University of Central Florida (Graduate Positions Available)

[Hojun Song]

Dear all,

An integrative research program in insect systematics and evolution is being led by Dr. Hojun Song in the Department of Biology at the University of Central Florida (UCF). The Song Laboratory of Insect Systematics and Evolution focuses on the study of an insect order Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids) and other insects and aims at understanding behavioral, ecological, physiological, morphological and molecular evolution in a phylogenetic framework. Specific research programs include: Phylogenetic systematics of Orthoptera (Insecta), Density-dependent phenotypic plasticity in grasshoppers and locusts, Evolution of insect male genitalia, Nuclear mitochondrial pseudogenes, and Mitochondrial genomics. The Song Lab is currently supported by funding from NSF (DEB-0816962).

The Song Lab is equipped with modern facilities to conduct diverse areas of research, including collection-based, molecular lab-based, behavioral and field-based studies. Additionally, there are a number of resources available from the Department of Biology at UCF, including the UCF Collection of Arthropods (UCFC), an active research collection with more than 420,000 specimens, all of which are specimen-level databased. It is regionally focused on Central Florida and its taxonomic strengths lie in Hymenoptera and Coleoptera. UCFC has been recently dedicated to its founder Stuart M. Fullerton in recognition of his life-long service to create this amazing collection. Dr. Hojun Song recently joined UCFC as the curator to further develop the collection. More information on the UCFC can be found at http://biology.cos.ucf.edu/bugs and a newly updated website will be available soon.

UCF is located in Orlando, Florida and it is one of the fastest growing universities in the country. Currently, it is the third largest university in the U.S. with a total number of students around 56,000. UCF is striving to become one of the major metropolitan research universities. Cultural diversity, nearby tourist attractions, great foods, and awesome weather are some of the perks of living in Orlando. For more information, please visit www.ucf.edu. The Department of Biology at UCF (http://biology.cos.ucf.edu) is a broad based department with research active faculty in all areas of inquiry within the biological sciences. Prospective students will have ample opportunities to interact with faculty members whose research strengths lie in ecology/evolution/conservation and genetics/cell/development.

The Song Lab is currently recruiting motivated graduate students (MS or PhD) interested in working with Orthoptera in the following areas: systematics (descriptive/revisionary taxonomy and phylogenetics), evolution of male genitalia, and phenotypic plasticity. Funding for graduate students is guaranteed during academic semesters for the duration of graduate program, and summer support is available for the first two years. Research support (supplies and travel) is also available. Additionally, there are very attractive fellowships and scholarships available from the university for exceptional students.

Interested students should visit the lab website at www.schistocerca.org/SongLab and click on "Graduate Students" under "Prospective Students" tab or directly contact Dr. Hojun Song (song at mail.ucf.edu) for further information. The deadline for graduate school application for Fall 2011 is January 15, 2011. 

Sincerely,
Hojun Song

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Hojun Song, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Curator of UCF Collection of Arthropods
Department of Biology
University of Central Florida
4000 Central Florida Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32816-2368
Email) song at mail.ucf.edu
Office) 407-823-0675
Fax) 407-823-5769
Lab Website) schistocerca.org/SongLab
Publications) publicationslist.org/hojun.song
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