Join

If you are interested in joining my research group, please contact me using the form below. 

I receive more expressions of interest from great potential students and post-docs than I could ever hope to take on. I try to personally respond to every inquiry I receive. However, if you don’t hear from me right away—or, worse, if you don’t hear from me at all—please don’t take it personally. It simply means that there isn’t enough overlap between what you and I are interested in working on.

That being said, if you really want to work on my team, there are a few things I suggest you do:

First, take the time to explore in some depth the research that my team and I do; the students and post-docs who are ultimately selected to join my team get their spots because they have demonstrated a clear interest in, and aptitude for, the kind of research we do. The best way to learn about what my team and I do, and how we do it, is to browse our work at sites like Google Scholar or ResearchGate.

(The worst thing you can do is send me an expression of interest in which you cut and paste from this or another website; it’s pretty easy to figure out who is cutting and pasting, and who is really doing some legwork.)

Second, it’s never too early to have one of your mentors or references speak up for you. An endorsement from someone who can comment on your work is always helpful.

Finally, consider getting a Master's degree first. I know this is probably not what you want to hear. The reason I suggest this is, a Ph.D is a challenging and specialized degree. Most research jobs don’t require a Ph.D and, worse, having a Ph.D can make you overqualified for jobs that can be done by researchers with Master’s degrees. In my experience, if you are not deeply motivated to pursue an academic career, then a Ph.D is most likely not a good use of your time. Getting some in-depth research experience in an academic environment is the best way to figure out if a Ph.D is really for you. It’s for this reason that I very rarely accept students to join my group if they don’t have a Master’s degree.

No matter what you decide, good luck on whatever path your research and scholarship takes you on. And thanks for your interest in our work!