I am always interested in inquires from prospective students. Positions in the lab become available on an irregular schedule, but typically I seek students in August and especially January. Strong candidates will have excellent grades, work experience, and most important a genuine interest in the projects in the lab. If you are interested in our work, please contact me or any of my research students. Our lab is currently funded the by the National Institute on Aging. Undergraduates can work for either academic credit or an hourly wage.

A position for a Masters student to work on nutrient allocation and longevity in flesh flies is available. With my colleague Dan Hahn at the University of Florida, we have shown that dietary restriction extends lifespan in flesh flies, and that diets labeled with 13C result in 13C incorporation in the eggs and the body. This project will combine those two results. Flies on life-extending dietary restriction will be feed labeled diets to quantify the allocation of nutrients to reproduction vs. the soma. This will rigorously test the disposable soma hypothesis.

A position for an undergraduate student to work on how diet affects lifespan in grasshoppers is available for fall 2008. This project would involve testing whether the tissues of grasshoppers can be labeled with 13C via the diet. This is important for the study of aging, because it will allow us to measure nutrient allocation to reproduction vs. the soma.

John Hatle
jhatle@unf.edu
904-620-2778