The MacDonald Lab in the Department of Entomology at the University of California, Riverside is recruiting up to two PhD students for Fall 2027 interested in conservation genomics, landscape genomics, and insect biodiversity.
We use chromosome-scale genome assemblies and whole-genome resequencing, often from hundreds of individuals sampled across species’ entire ranges, to study population structure, connectivity, local adaptation, species limits, and conservation. Much of our work is associated with the California Conservation Genomics Project. We have several very large preprocessed datasets available for immediate analysis. Students may develop projects from these existing datasets, contribute to ongoing collaborative studies, or establish their own landscape or conservation genomics projects on insect taxa of interest. The lab has numerous butterfly and damselfly projects at different stages of completion and strong collaborative networks across UCR's Department of Entomology, Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, and universities and conservation agencies across the U.S. and Canada.
Applicants with experience in bioinformatics, coding, statistics, population genomics, evolutionary genomics, or related fields will be prioritized. We increasingly outsource routine molecular lab work. Wet lab experience is welcome but is less important than analytical experience, natural history knowledge, and strong field skills.
UC Riverside has one of the world’s leading entomology departments and a strong community in evolutionary genomics. Riverside and nearby communities such as Redlands offer comparatively affordable living and exceptional access to the Transverse Ranges, Joshua Tree National Park, the Sierra Nevada, and the Southern California coast.
Prospective students should send a CV, a brief description of their research interests and relevant experience, and contact information for two to three references to Zachary MacDonald at zmacdona@ucr.edu with the subject line “PhD inquiry: [Last Name].”

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