The Catchen Lab (https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcatchenlab.life.illinois.edu%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cmid14018%40ad.uconn.edu%7C1160f71881454f80eb0108de25d0c77b%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C638989775840611720%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=BrDWdVoZgtu5FgwF%2BiV3OOaO0TYgDwJSXCOAvh73tTU%3D&reserved=0), in the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is recruiting graduate students to join our lab.
Our lab is primarily a computational lab that focuses on the evolution of genome architecture. We blend comparative genomics with population genetics, applying a computational toolset to most of our analyses. We sequence a lot of DNA, focusing on long- and short-read sequencing, combining these data with novel algorithm development in Python and
C++. We accept students with a range of computational experience and
previous students have worked on research projects ranging from purely biological analyses to writing software.
Recent projects in the lab have included significant work in fishes, including the genomics of Antarctic fishes, the genome architecture of killifishes, stickleback genomics, ancient and modern salmon DNA, and investigating the genomic basis of honey bee metabolism.
Some of our students develop software packages; the lab developed the Stacks software for analyzing RADseq data, tools for conserved synteny analysis and genome assembly curation, visualization tools, such as Klumpy, and with some cool stuff under development.
The department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior is housed within the School of Integrative Biology, home to over 30 faculty working in ecology, behavior, conservation and evolution. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers state-of-the-art research facilities such as the Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), the Beckman Institute (several research themes including bioimaging and Molecular Science and
Engineering) and the Grainger College of Engineering. Urbana-Champaign is a pleasant, affordable, university town with good music and restaurants. It has its own airport and is close to three major U.S. cities (Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis).
Students for the Ph.D. are typically funded for 5-years with a combination of fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships. The deadline for consideration is December 15, 2025.
Please contact Julian Catchen (jcatchen@illinois.edu) if you have questions or want to discuss opportunities in the lab.
“Catchen, Julian” <jcatchen@illinois.edu>
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