A PhD student position is available in the Altieri Lab (www.altierilab.org) at the University of Florida to examine the response of coral communities to disturbance. The official start date for enrollment could be as early as Fall 2025, but there will be an opportunity to jump start field work in the Summer 2025 field season.

The student will join a team that is generally focused on global stressors on coral reefs and the community level responses that determine resilience and trajectories of recovery, and is expected to develop independent research interests that complement these themes. The PhD student will be based at UF’s main campus in Gainesville, FL, with primary field work likely on the Caribbean coast of Panama, and the opportunity to work with related long-term monitoring data sets. The student may also have opportunity to collaborate on other projects including those in coastal Florida.

Ideal applicants will have a strong background in ecology and/or marine science (bachelor’s or master’s degree), excellent quantitative and communication (written and oral) skills, and a demonstrated potential to conduct intensive field (and laboratory research) both independently and as part of an interdisciplinary team. Scientific diving certification and experience, as well as experience working internationally, is desired.

The student will join the Altieri Lab in UF’s Environmental Engineering Sciences Department and will be affiliated with the Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics group within the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment (ESSIE) (https://faculty.eng.ufl.edu/ced/) and the Center for Coastal Solutions (https://ccs.eng.ufl.edu/). The position includes stipend, tuition, and benefits.

This opportunity is not following the typical academic year application cycle. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with start date negotiable. Interested applicants are encouraged to submit their application to the Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences through the portal found on the ESSIE website.
https://www.essie.ufl.edu/admissions/graduate-admissions/

Inquiries about the position can be sent to Dr. Andrew Altieri (andrew.altieri@essie.ufl.edu) or Stacey Dolan (sdolan@ufl.edu).