UAPB Summer  Research

Please join us for summer research!

 

We have positions for two UA Pine Bluff students to work in our lab this summer from May 22--July 28, 2022. You will have free housing and a meal plan and will receive a $5000 stipend for the summer. If you are interested, please send your CV or resume and which project you’re interested in working on to durantlab@gmail.com before April 9th. Applicants will be interviewed as applications arrive.  

 

You can learn more about the DuRant lab at www.durantlab.com .

 

Research projects:

Does thermal variability drive parental nesting behaviors and offspring phenotype in birds?  With predicted rapid shifts in the thermal climate we must understand how parents mitigate exposure of offspring to extreme temperatures, and how embryonic exposure to high temperatures will shape offspring traits. The overarching goal of this research is to better understand the interactions among environmental temperature, parental behavior, and offspring outcomes. We are currently using a recentlyly established nest box system in Fayetteville, AR to study these relationships in Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows. 

 

Does prior exposure to infectious disease alter parental physiology and behavior to affect offspring disease susceptibility?

Pathogens are forceful drivers of ecological interactions and host evolution, shaping host behavioral patterns and reproductive decisions, which can ultimately alter the developmental environment of offpsring. When these effects influence offspring immune phenotype, disease-induced parental effects exert selection on the pathogen, creating a bidirectional link between host and pathogen evolutionary processes. This link can be mediated by changes in parental care behaviors. Using domestic canaries we are exploring the role of parental incubation behavior in shaping host-pathogen interactions. 

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How do microbes adapt and even thrive in the face of various environmental assaults? Microbial stress responses are remarkably complex, coordinating multiple levels of sensing, signal transduction, and global regulatory networks. Thus, stress research feeds into nearly all aspects of cell biology, with implications for human disease, microbial pathogenesis, and the evolution of regulatory networks. (This research will be conducted in the Lewis lab.)

 

Research Community and Housing:

Students joining the lab for summer research will be part of a broader summer research community, the summer NSF REU programs at UA Fayetteville. Our summer students along with all of the NSF REU students are housed in the Duncan Apartments located on the UA Fayetteville campus. In addition, summer student researchers in the DuRant lab will overlap with the NSF REU program (May 22-July 28) and participate in the summer NSF REU activities (field trips, professional development seminars, social events, etc.).  REU activities start on May 22nd, so summer researchers should be prepared to move into the Duncan apartments on the 20th or 21st. All students must move out by July 29th.

 

Parking is available and summer student passes for red and green lots are $25. Parking in the garage for the summer is $200.