Team

Find out more about the people who make up the Shade Lab Team at MSU.

Join Our Team

We are always excited to welcome new members who are passionate about microbial ecology and evolution, and who share our values of scientific integrity, teamwork and inclusion. Please see the information listed below.

Undergraduates

We accept new Professorial Assistants every fall.
We are trainers with the iCER ACRES REU summer program - undergraduates interested in bioinformatics projects should apply to iCER ACRES.
We receive summer students through the Great Lakes BioEnergy Center Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Students interested in bioenergy crop microbiology should apply.
We also welcome students from the Michigan State Summer Research Opportunities Program.
We often have openings for undergraduates interested in pursuing research for credit through the MMG Department (MMG 499). Sophomore and junior students are encouraged to email Ashley well in advance of enrollment to convey an interest (include resume and research interests - what skills you want to learn and what projects you have interest in).

Graduate students

We accept PhD students through the BioMolecular Science Gateway Program. This program includes a rotation period before a commitment is made to any particular student.
We can also accept PhD and MS students interested in the Crop and Soil Sciences program through the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences.
Ecology Evolutionary Biology and Behavior PhD program is an "add-on" degree to the student's major.
Prospective students are encouraged to contact Ashley with a cv and statement of research interests in advance of applying.
We welcome and encourage Fulbright scholar applications.

Post-doctoral scholars

We publicly advertise open post-doc positions and hire through Michigan State's Careers @ MSU. In addition, open post-doctoral positions will be advertised on Twitter (@ashley17061, #ShadeLab), on our news blog, and via our scientific network.
If you have your own research funding and an idea for a new project, please contact Ashley with your CV and a statement of research interests.
If you wish to write a fellowship application with Ashley as a sponsor, please contact her with your CV, statement of research interests, and brief description of your proposal plan and target funding program(s).

Teaching fellows

We are happy to mentor graduate or post-doctoral teaching fellows in teaching-as-research (aka scientific teaching) projects to improve or implement active learning activities in Ashley's MMG 425 Microbial Ecology class.
The FAST program and NatSci Certificate in Teaching College Science and Mathematics offers coursework and training to prepare for mentored teaching-as-research experiences.

Visiting scholars

We welcome and encourage visiting scholars, especially international scholars and sabbatical guests. We believe that our diverse experiences strengthen our team and our approach to science, and we promote open science and support democratic access to science resources.
We are happy to write letters of support for fellowships, travel awards, sabbatical applications and collaborative research proposals that include visits to ShadeLab and Michigan State. We do not often have funding to support such endeavors, so it is key for the visitor to have ideas or mechanisms to support their personal expenses (including travel, lodging, health expenses/insurance, meals) and their research expenses if they desire to perform lab/greenhouse experiments. We do not charge "bench fees."
Because of the paperwork and expense required to apply for visas, we prefer for international scholars to visit for 6 months minimum.