Interested in joining the lab?
Click on an opportunity below to learn more!
Working in the Schwartz Lab
We are committed to maintaining a positive, supportive, diverse and inclusive research group. We value persons of every race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and cultural background.
I encourage any students considering joining my lab group to reach out to my current (and previous students) to gain perspective on graduate school and working in the Schwartz lab group to see if this is a good fit for you.
Undergraduate Research in Dr. Tonia Schwartz’s Laboratory of
Functional Genomics
Undergraduate research is a valuable experience for students that allow them to use and apply the knowledge they are learning in their classes, gain experience and marketable skills, and learn to be a professional scientist. We encourage students to get involved in research as soon as possible. We love having undergraduates in the lab and help us with research! But, it is important to realize that it takes time and energy to train new people in the lab and determine if we can trust them with our experiments and data collection. As such, we typically take on students that intend to be involved in research for multiple semesters. Often times students are in the lab for 2-3 years.
Options for Involvement
1. Volunteer
2. Research Credit: BIOL4980 Independent Research
3. Undergraduate Research Fellowships
4. Research technician paid from a grant
We have many options for undergraduate students to be becoming involved in the Schwartz Lab. Typically they start off volunteering and working with a graduate student on their project so we can "test each other out". Once they have some experience and understanding of the on-going projects and determine if research is for them, then they typically transition to more independent research project related to a larger project in the lab through Research Credit, a Research Fellowship (paid) or as a paid research technician.
Research Credit: BIOL4980
This is a great option for juniors and seniors that have already been working in the lab and have a idea of what type of project they would like to do. We design an independent research project around your interest in the context of projects on-going in my lab.
Expectations for Research Credit: conduct independent research, write a scientific paper, give a presentation, attend lab meetings
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Approximate hours of work per week:
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5 hours per week for 2 credits,
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7 hours per week for 3 credits,
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9 hours per week for 4 credits.
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Syllabus is here
Research Fellowships (Paid) and Independent Research Projects
If you are interested in doing a longer term research project with more independence, I encourage you to look into a Paid fellowship for a year, or a summer.
Auburn University, Undergraduate Research Fellowships: http://www.auburn.edu/undgres/fellowship.php
Research Technician (Paid)
If we have a research grant that includes funds to higher undergraduate researchers, we will hire students (typically those that have already proven themselves in the lab) to conduct research with us for 10-20 hours per week.
To apply to work with us.
Please send me the following so I can assess whether you are a good fit for the lab.
1. An CV or resume detailing your past work and research experiences.
2. A cover page (2-3 paragraphs) explaining:
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why you are interested in doing research, and why you think your interest fit with my laboratory.
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the type of project you would like to work on (see the Research link).
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the type of skills you would like to obtain: bioinformatics, molecular lab bench skills (working with DNA/RNA), organismal (working with mice, reptiles, Daphnia), writing & synthesizing literature, etc.)