Join the Williams lab: Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology of Insects
Caroline Williams, Professor
Integrative Biology
Applications for Fall 2025 are closed for this project.
The Williams Lab in the Department of Integrative Biology studies the ecological and evolutionary physiology of insects, integrating from genes to physiology to ecology. We are recruiting a cohort of undergraduates to join our lab and take part in a rigorous training program to become an undergraduate researcher. A range of projects will be available involving our two main study systems: Wing polymorphic crickets to study the evolution of insect flight, and alpine grasshoppers to study responses to anthropogenic climate change. All undergraduates will take part in weekly whole group meetings, contribute to lab maintenance, and receive small group training and individualized mentoring on their project from a graduate student mentor. Dedicated and talented students will have the opportunity to remain in the lab and develop an independent research project, including the possibility of doing an Honor's project if program requirements are met. The Williams lab prioritizes high quality undergraduate training and mentoring, and undergraduates are invited to participate in all aspects of the intellectual and social community of the lab group.
Study System 1 - Evolutionary physiology of flight in wing polymorphic crickets
Crickets are a model system to study how animals can adjust energetic investments to activity, reproduction, and maintenance throughout their lifetime because there are flight capable and incapable types within populations. Projects in this study system include conducting gene expression analysis using qPCR, developing RNA interference to knock down gene expression of candidate genes influencing wing morph determination, conducting biochemical assays to study iron metabolism and hormone titres, neurobiology including confocal microscopy and behavior, and large scale experiments manipulating temperature and photoperiod to understand the environmental regulation of flight capability.
Study System 2 - Impacts of climate change on alpine grasshopper communities (https://www.trenchproject.com/grasshopper)
We are using grasshoppers from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado to study the biological impacts of recent anthropogenic climate change, from the level of genes and molecules to whole organisms and communities. Projects in this study system include carrying out qPCR for gene expression analysis, conducting TLC-FID to measure lipid content in grasshopper specimens, and developing models to predict energy content of museum specimens based on external measurements.
Applicants will have the opportunity to rank interest in projects after the interviews.
Role: Learn and apply basic laboratory skills, including pipetting, keeping a lab notebook, insect husbandry, weighing and measuring solids and liquids, experimental design, reading primary literature, and scientific communication (oral and written). Depending on the project, advanced skills may include RNA or DNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, qPCR, RNA interference, biochemical assays, chromatography, working in museum collections, fieldwork, microdissections and injections, microscopy, statistical analyses, and data presentation. All undergraduates are expected to spend 1h/week on laboratory maintenance, including animal husbandry and cleaning.
Qualifications: No previous research experience required. Required traits: reliable, detail-oriented, excellent team member, excited about science, steady hands, willing to handle insects. Desirable but not essential: experience reading primary literature, work experience with good references, some molecular biology or physiology coursework.
Undergraduates in the Williams lab are invited to attend lab meetings and take part in the intellectual life of the lab. They interact with graduate students and the PI and have the opportunity to form long-term mentoring relationships. For exceptional students, there may be opportunities to contribute to a publication or present at a conference. Students often stay in the lab for multiple semesters and contribute to diverse research projects including independent research and honors theses.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Tomas Diaz, Lourenco Martins, Simran Bawa, Avi Simon, Graduate Student
Hours: 9-11 hrs
Related website: http://cmwilliamslab.com
Related website: https://www.trenchproject.com/grasshopper