Scientist-in-Residence Fellowship

The Scientist in Residence program is now closed for summer 2024.

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2017 Research Interns and SIRFS

Shoals Scientist-in-Residence Fellowships (SIRF) support early career, postdoctoral scientists, and late-stage Ph.D. candidates for up to three-month residencies at Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML) on Appledore Island, Maine. This program provides financial support for residential research time that can be used for data analysis, manuscript preparation, experimentation, and collaboration, among others. Priority will be given to Fellows engaged in SML-based science. Financial support includes: travel allowance, room and board, an honorarium, and research allowance. Fellows will be given lab/office space.  In addition to research, SIRF fellows are expected to assist with mentoring SML's Undergraduate Research Internship Program. The program also seeks to increase the number of scientists from underrepresented groups; however, all qualified scientists are encouraged to apply.

SML is a seasonal field station operated jointly by Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire. The island campus is located 6 miles offshore in the Isles of Shoals in the Gulf of Maine. SML is the largest marine lab in the U.S. dedicated to undergraduate education and research. SML offers undergraduate students a unique opportunity to study marine science in the field with exceptional faculty from institutions throughout North America. Instruction at SML is based on giving participants a truly "hands-on" educational experience. SML courses and internships provide rigorous training in many marine subjects and prepare students for careers in the fields of marine biology, and environmental science and sustainability. SML's ethos of responsible natural resource use and management, valuing scientific and community collaboration, and public service guides all SML programs.

Details

  • Priority given to 1 postdoc & 1 assistant professor each summer who will conduct field work at SML or use SML data sets (to learn more about available data, please see SML’s website and communicate directly with the contact listed below).
  • Operating season at SML: May 1 - September 1. Minimum commitment for 2023 Fellows: June 2 – August 11 (tentative dates).
  • $500 travel allowance to support travel to/from SML for the start & end of the program.
  • Stipend: $3,000/month
  • Benefits include room & board at SML and use of SML facilities.
  • Up to $1,200 research allowance at SML (to pay for research vessel use, research assistance, or supplies that SML will provide or procure for scientists). Durable goods will become the property of SML. These funds are aimed to support active, on-island research while participating in this program.

Requirements and Opportunities

  • Applications are invited for any field-based natural science investigation in the Isles of Shoals. Marine topics are preferred.
  • Fellows will be based on Appledore Island and expected to reside at SML as their primary residence for a minimum of 4 days/week.
  • Applicants must be legally able to work in the U.S.
  • Research plans must be approved by SML and they must adhere to SML research policies.
  • Fellows are asked to give at least one seminar talk to the island community during their fellowship.
  • Fellows are expected to spend 10 hrs/week mentoring 8-12 undergraduate students in SML’s  Research Internship Program. Fellows will serve as the secondary mentors, complimenting the guidance of each student's primary research mentor (aka the Principle Investigators). Fellows will attend weekly internship meetings where they may be called on to provide a lecture or expertise on field research methodology or some other aspect of independent research training. Lecture time will count towards the 10 hr/week commitment. Opportunities exist for fellows to have undergraduates work directly on their own research projects (advanced planning is required and is subject to the availability of funding).
  • Opportunities exist for public outreach and additional income via Overnight Programs in August and September.
  • Fellows will be subject to a pre-employment background check and will be required to complete the University of New Hampshire's Protection of Minors training.

To Apply

A complete application will be a single PDF file containing, in the order shown:

  1. Cover letter describing your interest and availability, including current employment status and eligibility. If you are a postdoc, please include the name and contact information of your supervisor. Please highlight teaching and/or mentoring experience as well as research accomplishments.
  2. Curriculum vitae, including 3 professional references.
  3. A 1-2 page proposal describing your intended research at SML. Please provide sufficient information regarding facilities needed for your work.

Novel media or formats other than PDF deemed essential to an individual’s application may be submitted.

Only complete applications will be considered.

 

Deadline for applications TBD

Questions? Contact us at shoals.lab@unh.edu


Scientist-in-Residence Profiles

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SIRF 2019: Dr. Carrie Keogh

Dr. Carrie Keogh is a parasite ecologist interested in heterogeneity in parasite distributions and how this affects host-parasite co-evolution.  She is especially interested in how heterogeneity in parasite infection risk across habitats can lead to differences in host susceptibility and resource allocation across populations.  The gull colonies on Appledore make the island a hotspot for trematode parasite transmission to Littorina snail hosts, which are castrated by the infection.  Previous work in this Littorina-trematode host-parasite system has revealed consistently high levels of heterogeneity in trematode infection risk in the snails, leading to host local adaptation to infection risk.  During her SIRF, Carrie will explore potential mechanisms for differences in trematode susceptibility in the Littorina hosts, including differences in parasite detection and avoidance, and in algal grazing rates in snails from high versus low infection-risk sites. 

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SIRF 2019: Dr. Lauren Pandori

A recent PhD from the Sorte Lab at the University of California, Irvine, Lauren is interested in how environmental gradients at small and large scales drive population dynamics and potential for persistence under climate change. In her dissertation work, she studied how sensitivity to environmental stress differs between life stages of marine invertebrates, particularly how environmental variation among small-scale intertidal habitats can influence patterns of population persistence. She iscurrently using field experiments and population demographic models to predict intertidal mussel (Mytilus edulis and californianus) population declines in southern California and the Gulf of Maine. This research has provided critical information for conservation of rocky shore ecosystems, as mussel populations and the diversity of the community that depends on them have declined by ~50% in recent decades. At Shoals Marine Lab, she will use her field ecology and analytical skillsets to build upon rich historical datasets to study mussel declines in the Gulf of Maine, projecting population trajectories for blue mussels on Appledore Island and at nearby sites.