Mendel Science Experience Post-Doctoral Fellow

Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences invites applications for a Mendel Science Experience Post-doctoral Fellow within the Department of Biology, in the area of behavioral ecology. The position has a starting date of August 2019. Review of applications will begin on March 1, 2019, and the search will remain open until the position is filled.

The Fellows program is designed to enhance the College’s teaching of science to non-science majors through the Mendel Science Experience (MSE) program and to foster the professional development of recent Ph.D. recipients on a career path leading to faculty positions. Positions are 50:50 research and teaching. The fellow will conduct research in collaboration with the faculty mentor (Dr. Robert Curry, http://robertcurrylab.com) and will have opportunities to supervise undergraduate research. In addition, the fellow will team-teach a laboratory science course for non-science majors and develop undergraduate or Masters-level courses in ecology and/or animal behavior. Initial appointment is for two years, with a third year possible by mutual agreement between the fellow, the faculty mentor, and the College. Further information about the department is available at http://biology.villanova.edu.

Villanova is a Catholic university sponsored by the Augustinian order. Diversity and inclusion have been and will continue to be an integral component of Villanova University’s mission. The University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and seeks candidates who understand, respect and can contribute to the University’s mission and values.

Candidates with a Ph.D. in Biology/Biological Sciences or a related field and research interests in behavioral and evolutionary ecology of birds or spiders are encouraged to apply (https://jobs.villanova.edu/postings/15607). Applicants with expertise in field studies of avian cognition, social networks, mate choice, or hybridization will be particularly well suited for this position; applicants with expertise concerning the ecology of spiders may be considered.

The successful candidate will join the Curry Lab in which research focuses on the behavioral, evolutionary, and cognitive ecology of songbird hybridization, as well as the evolutionary and behavioral ecology of herbivorous ant-acacia jumping spiders. The successful candidate will also gain formal teaching experience, including team-teaching a MSE lab course with the mentor and developing her or his own courses in the applicant’s area of expertise. The MSE course planned for Spring 2020 will use a focus on students’ family trees and DNA test results as an approach for introducing conceptual and factual information about heredity and genetics, with interdisciplinary connections to history, geography, sociology, and more (http://robertcurrylab.com/courses/all-in-your-family/). The fellow may also have an opportunity to team-teach a field course in Tropical Ecology.