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<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">The Watershed Biogeochemistry in the Anthropocene Lab (</span><a href="http://gersonlab.weebly.com"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#0563C1">http://gersonlab.weebly.com</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">)
at Michigan State University is recruiting motivated, collaborative, and curious PhD students and postdoctoral scholars in coupled biogeochemical cycles.
<span style="background:white">We study how anthropogenic activities have altered the coupled cycling of nutrients and contaminants through watersheds. While we have historically focused on mercury, we are expanding our focus. We examine the fate, transport,
and transformation of these elements within and between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, including their consequences for people and animals.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;background:white"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">The PhD students and postdoctoral scholars will have flexibility in their research to find a topic that excites them but could focus on one of the following
projects: the fate of mercury from artisanal gold mining in Peru, Ghana, or Kenya; the impact of agricultural sulfur use in California vineyards or midwestern croplands; the potential antagonism between mercury and selenium; or the local and global fate of
trace elements from human activities. This research will involve a combination of fieldwork, laboratory analyses, lab experiments, and modeling. The student will be expected to work both independently and collaboratively, to communicate results in peer-reviewed
scientific articles and conferences presentations, and to share their work with relevant community members and leaders.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">The Gerson Lab is part of the</span><a href="https://ees.natsci.msu.edu/"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#0563C1">Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"> and</span><a href="https://www.kbs.msu.edu/"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#0563C1">Kellogg Biological Station</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"> at Michigan State University. Graduate students can
also affiliate with the</span><a href="https://eeb.msu.edu/"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#0563C1">Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"> Program. Collectively, these communities provide
great opportunities for students to work and interact with other watershed and ecosystem scientists in a supportive and collaborative environment. We are committed to promoting and enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;background:white">I encourage all students applying to graduate school to check out this</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#222222;background:white">
</span><a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bes2.2029"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#1155CC;background:white">article</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#222222;background:white">
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;background:white">I co-authored about demystifying the graduate school application process.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Minimum qualifications for PhD positions: Students from a range of academic majors are encouraged to apply, including biology, chemistry, ecology, environmental
engineering, environmental science, geochemistry, hydrology, and other related fields. Applicants from historically underrepresented groups in STEM are particularly encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to students with a M.S. degree by the start date,
although we will consider all students with a B.A. or B.S.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Desired qualifications for PhD and postdoc positions: Previous research experience and/or relevant coursework, self-motivation, willingness to learn, positive
attitude, interest in a cross-disciplinary approach, ability to work collaboratively in teams, and a commitment to creating an inclusive culture in the research group and more broadly in research science and education.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Note that GRE scores are not required or considered as part of the grad school application.</span><a href="https://btaa.org/resources-for/students/freeapp/introduction"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#0563C1">FreeApp waivers</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"> for application fees are available with priority given to those
who apply by November 15, though submissions after that date will still be considered for support.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Funding: The PhD positions will be funded on a combination of teaching and research assistantships, which include a
<span style="background:white">competitive stipend for five years (including summers), tuition waiver, and health insurance benefits. The Earth and Environmental Science program also provides funding to support moving costs to East Lansing and the purchase
of a personal computer. The postdoctoral position is funded for at least one year (with the potential for an extension for an additional one to two years). For both the PhD students and postdocs, there will also be opportunities for professional development,
including presentation of research at conferences.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p style="margin:0in"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;background:white">I also highly encourage you to apply for competitive fellowships, and I would be happy to work with you to develop your applications.
</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;background:white">If you are a graduate student, applications for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) are due in October. If you are a postdoc, I can work
with you to compile an application to the MSU Ecology Evolution and Behavior Postdoctoral Fellowship, Smith Fellowship, NSF Biology Postdoctoral Fellowship, or NSF Geoscience Postdoctoral Fellowship, among others. Application deadlines for each of these fellowships
differs.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">If interested, please review our lab website for more information and then contact Dr. Jacqueline Gerson at
</span><a href="mailto:gersonja@msu.edu"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#1155CC">gersonja@msu.edu
</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">to arrange a zoom call. In your email,
<span style="background:white">please include your CV and briefly address the following: 1) your previous research experience and/or relevant skills, 2) your research interests, and 3) why you are interested in joining this lab.
<b>The application deadline for PhD students in Earth and Environmental Sciences is December 7. Initial contact is requested prior to formally applying to the department.</b>
<b>Postdoctoral scholar applicants will be considered as they are received.</b></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;background:white"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;background:white">Location: Michigan State University is located in East Lansing, Michigan, with Kellogg Biological Station ~1.5 hours away in Hickory Corners,
Michigan. MSU is a community of ~50,000 undergraduate and graduate students. East Lansing offers an excellent quality of life, with a reasonable cost of living and access to many outdoor activities (hiking, paddling, biking, cross-country skiing). East Lansing
is also ~1 hour from Detroit and Ann Arbor, and ~4 hours from Chicago. MSU is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from women, persons of color, veterans, persons with disabilities and other individuals who can contribute to the intellectual
diversity and cultural richness at Michigan State University. Michigan State University occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Anishinaabeg–Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. The University resides
on Land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">Jacqueline Gerson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">Pronouns: she/her<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">Assistant Professor<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences & W.K. Kellogg Biological Station<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">Michigan State University<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">288 Farms Lane, <span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">East Lansing, MI 48824</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"><a href="http://gersonlab.weebly.com/" title="http://gersonlab.weebly.com"><span style="color:#0563C1;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">http://gersonlab.weebly.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">
<span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Montserrat;color:black">Michigan State University occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Anishinaabeg–Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. The University resides
on Land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.</span><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Montserrat"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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