GER-9452643 University of Vermont Schall We ask support for five Graduate Research Traineeships in Environmental Biology. These students will be trained by eight faculty in the Zoology Department of the University of Vermont (UVM). This cluster of biologists has been selected as a "center of excellence" in science: Joint state and NSF EPSCoR funding will support continuing research by the cluster, and the university has recently added two faculty to the group. The EPSCoR funds also provide seed and travel grants for graduate students. Today's doctoral students in environmental biology must combine traditional field and theoretical ecology with population genetics, phylogenetic analysis, and modern molecular techniques. Each student will receive training in an EPSCoR-funded Molecular Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, and take a series of modern laboratory courses in ecological theory, population genetics, and phylogenetic analysis. In addition, five of the eight UVM cluster faculty conduct research on ecological and evolutionary parasitology, providing a leading center for training students in this field. Specific plans for recruiting women and multicultural students are detailed. The UVM Zoology faculty consists of an unusually high proportion of women who can act as mentors for female students; the cluster already has in place agreements with several HBCU's locate promising multicultural students.
