Opportunities

Interested in Joining the Lab?

Thank you for your interest in our lab. We will only consider funded students who are an unusually strong match to our research programs and who are realistically positioned to succeed in a highly quantitative, research-intensive environment. We operate as a joint lab led by Dahiana Arcila and Ricardo Betancur-R., but we run distinct research programs, so prospective students should plan to work primarily with one of us and should only reach out to the PI whose research aligns most closely with their interests. 

This is not a descriptive or exploratory lab. Our work is hypothesis-driven, data-intensive, and built around large datasets, computational analysis, and careful statistical and phylogenetic inference. Although we occasionally conduct fieldwork, including SCUBA diving, these opportunities are rare. Most research in the lab is computational and specimen-based, focused on large genomic, phylogenetic, and comparative datasets. Students spend most of their time at a computer or working with material in the Marine Vertebrate Collection. The Pacific Ocean is more often admired than entered for work.

Students in the lab are trained to become independent evolutionary biologists who can design studies, analyze complex genomic and comparative datasets, and publish at a high level. To help determine whether there is a genuine fit between your goals, preparation, and the way our lab operates, we ask all prospective students to answer the questions in the form below carefully and thoughtfully. These are not formal admissions materials, but a way for us to understand how you think, how you prepare, and how you approach research. If your interests, skills, and level of preparation align well with our program, this will allow us to continue the conversation.

***Prospective students should complete the intake form here***