Alli_son

Anyone have a temperature check on the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) this year? Before all the federal funding stuff went down, I heard from my PI that she was volunteer-reviewing applications back in the very beginning of January. Haven't heard a thing since! Wondering if anyone's heard anything?

I'm gearing up to apply to PhD programs this cycle, but I'm having trouble hammering out my list of institutions that I want to apply to. Particularly, I'm having a hard time figuring out the relative selectivity of a program, especially in the case of direct admit ecology programs. I want to make sure I'm applying to some schools that are a bit less selective, but still have a vibrant department, particularly for microbial ecology/disease ecology. It's getting time for me to finalize my list and start reaching out to PIs, but I keep going back and forth about where I'd like to apply. A bit about me: Undergrad degree in Biology with a minor in Religious studies from a NESCAC small liberal arts school. GPA 3.89/4.00 Took a gap semester during Covid F' 2020 to work in a malaria immunology/infectious disease lab. Undergrad capstone research in disease ecology I've taken ~2 years off after undergrad to work in a human microbiome lab, where I helped my PI set up her first lab Co-first author on a mini-review article published in Trends in Microbiology, currently working toward a larger first author metatranscriptomics paper. I've presented oral and poster presentations at a handful of regional conferences. 3 semesters of mentoring undergraduate students in the lab I'm most excited about research that combines molecular and ecological methods. I've been bolstering up my computational biology skills in this job, but I'd like to end up somewhere where I can get up from my computer every now and then for some field work or bench work. I'm especially interested in the intersections between microbiology, community ecology, and One Health. A lot of my previous research has been human-health focused, but I'd prefer to study eco/evo, rather than biomedical research. After my PhD, I'm looking to go into academia (professor at a PUI) or work in industry. Right now I'm thinking of applying to: Dartmouth EEES Cornell CALS microbiology UWisconsin (MDTP -- bacteriology/ insect microbiome) Michigan State NC State Penn State Huck Institute of Life sciences UC Davis UMaine UMaryland Are there any other programs I should consider? I hear plenty of folks tell me where I shouldn't apply ("Yale's a stress cesspool," "Penn State has dated facilities", "UMass Amherst is a mess"), but I'm not sure how much weight to place on these opinions? Any advice?