The Environmental Microbiology and Community Ecology (EM-CE) lab at Berry College is seeking students to work on a variety of projects studying interactions between microbial communities and the environment. Interested students are encouraged to explore Dr. Andrew Eagar’s lab website to learn about his ongoing projects at eagarforecology.com and indicate their area of interest when applying. You may also contact him with questions or to discuss your research interests.

Broadly, research responsibilities fall into three categories. Students may be involved with some, or all, elements of research and will receive hands-on training and mentorship on their road to independent work. The skills you will obtain working in the EM-CE lab are used in a variety of jobs and graduate programs and are translatable for a wide range of career paths.

Field work:

• Collecting samples
• Monitoring field sites
• Establishing plots
• Deploying and managing experiments

Lab work:

• Processing samples and obtaining data, such as soil moisture or plant biomass
• Extracting DNA from soil, water, and plants
• Conducting routine polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) to amplify bacterial and fungal DNA
• Evaluating DNA work with gel electrophoresis
• Quantifying plant root traits and fungal colonization through scanning software, staining, and microscopy

Analytics and writing:

• Analyzing and modeling microbial sequence data
• Interpreting and summarizing results
• Reviewing literature and writing about interesting microbial groups and taxa
• Presenting finding at conferences