PhD Position in Evolutionary Morphology and Developmental Bias at UCSD
The Rohner Lab at the University of California San Diego is recruiting a PhD student interested in understanding how developmental variability shapes morphological evolution. The student will join the Ecology, Behavior and Evolution (EBE) track in the Biological Sciences PhD program.
The project will investigate the role of developmental bias in shaping the direction and predictability of phenotypic evolution. A central goal will be to determine whether patterns of developmental variation within species predict evolutionary diversification across populations and species. The research will primarily use insect morphology, particularly sepsid flies and horned dung beetles, as a model system and will combine geometric morphometrics with experimental and comparative approaches.
Depending on the student’s interests, the project will involve:
- Quantifying developmental variation using geometric morphometrics and experimental approaches
- Testing how genetic and environmental variation influence morphology
- Comparing patterns of morphological variation within and among populations and species
- Integrating morphometric data with phylogenetic, ecological, or genomic information
- Developing or applying automated image-analysis and machine-learning pipelines for large-scale phenotyping

The student will have considerable freedom to develop their own questions within the broader research interests of the Rohner Lab. The position would be particularly well suited to someone interested in evo-devo, evolutionary ecology, quantitative genetics, geometric morphometrics, or the evolution of morphological diversity.
Applicants should have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in biology or a related field and a strong interest in evolutionary biology. Previous experience with geometric morphometrics, quantitative analysis, R, insect biology, or image analysis would be valuable but is not required. More important are intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm for quantitative and experimental research, and a willingness to learn new approaches.
The Rohner Lab is part of the Department of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution at UC San Diego. Our research integrates evolutionary ecology, quantitative genetics, evo-devo, comparative biology, and emerging approaches for automated phenotyping. The student will join a social and collaborative research environment with consistent interaction among researchers working across evolutionary biology, ecology, and evo-devo.
Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact Patrick Rohner at prohner@ucsd.edu before applying. Please include a brief description of your research interests and your CV.
Applications to the UC San Diego Biological Sciences PhD program are due December 2, 2026 and can be submitted at https://connect.grad.ucsd.edu/apply/.
More information about the Rohner Lab can be found at https://rohnerlab.biosci.ucsd.edu/.

(to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to
evoldir@evoldir.net)