PhD student RA-2023 summer or fall, Molecular Plant Pathology, Purdue University

leizhangzyxUID：4059683

GraduateResearch Assistantship in Molecular Plant Pathology

Departmentof Botany & Plant Pathology

PurdueUniversity

The Lei Zhang lab at Purdue University (https://ag.purdue.edu/department/btny/directory.html#/leizhang; publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=faYquL8AAAAJ&hl=en)is seeking highly motivated applicants for graduate study at PhD level starting in the summer or fall of 2023. The research assistantship of a PhD student provides stipend of $26,000/year and tuition waiver. Students with molecular biology backgrounds are encouraged to apply. English proficiency test (TOEFL or IELTS)is required for non-native English-speaking international applicants.

Plant-parasitic nematodes are microscopic soil-borne roundworms, they infect and damage plant roots causing annual crop losses valued at $80-$118 billion worldwide. The TheZhang lab is aimed to enhancing understanding of plant-nematode interactions and plant resistance to nematodes at molecular, organismal and population levels using a diverse array of approaches. Research results have been published on prestigious journals, including NaturePlants, PLOS Pathogens, Molecular Plant Pathology, Plant Disease.  

Prior research experience in plant-parasitic nematodes is NOT required for application. The successful applicant will have opportunities to be trained and work on (1) studying soybean resistance to the soybean cyst nematode (SCN) using next-generation sequencing (NGS), gene editing, RNAi and protein-protein interactions techniques; or (2) studying molecular mechanisms underlying SCN development.

How to apply: Interested students are asked to e-mail directly to Dr. Lei Zhang (leizhang@purdue.edu) the following documents: Resume, and transcripts. The subject of the email should be “Research assistantship 2023”. Screening of applications will begin on November 1, 2022 and will continue until the position has been filled.

English proficiency requirements of Purdue graduate school can be found at: https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/admissions/how-to-apply/apply-toefl.html

the college of Agriculture at Purdue University is one of the world’s leading colleges of agricultural, food, life, and natural resource sciences and ranked sixth in the US in the 2019 QS World University Rankings.