[Sextonlabpastmembers] Fwd: PhD position in alpine plant community ecology

[Jason Sexton]

Jason (Jay) Sexton
(he/him/his)

Associate Professor
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences
University of California, Merced
236 Science and Engineering Building 1
jsexton2 at ucmerced.edu
https://sextonlab.ucmerced.edu <http://sextonlab.ucmerced.edu/>

Faculty Director
UC Merced Natural Reserve System






---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Seema Sheth <ssheth3 at ncsu.edu>
Date: Wed, Oct 8, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Subject: PhD position in alpine plant community ecology
To:


Dear colleagues,


We are recruiting a Ph.D. student to join our plant evolutionary,
population, and community ecology lab at NC State. Please forward this to
any interested candidates!


Thanks,
Seema

-- 
Seema Sheth (she/her)
Associate Professor
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
North Carolina State University
seemasheth.weebly.com

Ph.D. position in Alpine Plant Community Ecology

Department of Plant and Microbial Biology

North Carolina State University



The Sheth plant evolutionary, population, and community ecology lab
<https://seemasheth.weebly.com/> in the Department of Plant and Microbial
Biology <http://pmb.cals.ncsu.edu/> at North Carolina State University
<http://ncsu.edu/> (Raleigh, NC) invites applications for a Ph.D. student
beginning in Fall 2026. We combine long-term observational datasets
collected in the field with experimental and statistical approaches to
understand how populations, species, and communities adapt to climate in
space and time. We strive to foster an environment where people from all
backgrounds are respected. We value the safety of all team members in the
lab and field.


The student will be funded through a combination of teaching assistantships
and summer research assistantships associated with the non-profit
organization, GLORIA Great Basin <https://www.gloriagreatbasin.org/>. GLORIA
Great Basin supports an international mission to assess global changes in
composition and distribution of alpine flora in a changing climate.
Partnering with GLORIA Great Basin, the student will develop a dissertation
project focused on understanding the long-term effects of climate change on
alpine plant community dynamics on mountaintops in the Great Basin and
Sierran regions of the Western US, with the potential of participating in a
collaborative synthesis of GLORIA summits across North America. The student
will contribute to collecting, managing, and disseminating the data for
field sites in the Western US, performing these tasks in coordination with
citizen scientists, research institutions, federal agencies, and the
broader GLORIA community. The Ph.D. student will join a highly
collaborative team of researchers, including Drs. Meagan Oldfather
<https://meaganoldfather.weebly.com/>, Brian Smithers
<https://www.briansmithers.net/>, and Mike Koontz
<https://michaeljkoontz.weebly.com/>.

Preferred qualifications: The ideal candidate has previous experience
conducting field research in remote alpine environments, expertise in plant
identification and ecological concepts, and the ability to coordinate and
lead field teams.

NCSU and the Research Triangle: NC State’s Department of Plant and
Microbial Biology offers a highly-rated research environment and is
situated in a collaborative and scientifically stimulating atmosphere in
the Research Triangle, with both UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University
nearby. There is a vibrant and growing community of ecologists and
evolutionary biologists spread across multiple departments on campus,
including Applied Ecology, Biological Sciences, Entomology and Plant
Pathology, Forestry and Environmental Resources, Soil and Crop Sciences,
and Biochemistry, among others. Raleigh is a lively yet affordable city
with a high standard of living, and its surroundings offer numerous
recreational activities.

To apply: Prospective graduate students should apply to the Plant Biology
Graduate Program. Before submitting a formal application (due January 15),
please send the following information to Dr. Sheth at ssheth3 at ncsu.edu no
later than November 3: 1) CV; and 2) a statement of your academic
background and previous research experience, current research interests,
and why you want to join the lab.
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