If you are interested in joining the lab as a post-doc, I would be very happy to talk to you; please reach out to me via email.
Current PhD students. If you are already a PhD student at UMD in CS, AMSC, BISI-BEES, or BISI-CBBG, I would be very happy to talk to you; please reach out to me via email.
The general process for joing the lab is taking CMSC 702 Algorithmic Evolutionary Biology and completing a rotation in the lab. The goal of taking CMSC 702 is learn the foundations necessary to conduct research in this field and to get started on a research project (a major part of the course grade is the final project). By the end of the course, you should have a sense of whether you want to pursue PhD research in algorithmic evolutionary biology and whether you are interested in any of the ongoing projects in the lab. The goal of doing a rotation is to learn where my advising style and the lab culture is a good fit for you. It is generally a good idea to explore different labs/advisors at the beginning of grad school.
Prospective PhD students. I am generally unable to respond to email requests from prospective PhD students. If you are interested in working with me, you should apply to the graduate programs (CS, AMSC, BISI-BEES, and BISI-CBBG) that are most suitable for your background and goals for PhD studies and then list me as a faculty of interest in your applications. All of these graduate programs are open admission, meaning that you are admitted to the program and then find an advisor through formal or informal rotations during your first 1-2 years. Admission decisions are made by the amissions committee not by individual faculty.
CS MS students in the lab have completed CMSC 702 and are working towards submitting their course project to a conference or journal. Achieving this goal requires a substantial time commitment from us and the student; therefore, we require MS students to register for research credits (either CMSC 798 or 799) the same semester they join the lab.
UMD students. Undergrads in the lab are actively working towards writing their honors thesis (e.g., ) and/or contributing a conference paper (e.g., ) or a specific section of a longer journal article, advised by me and/or a graduate student in the lab. Achieving this goal requires a substantial time commitment from us and the student; therefore, we require undergrads to register for research credits (CMSC 498A or CMSC 499A) the same semester they join the lab. Paid undergrad research positions during the summer are filled either by invitation, typically as follow-up to taking CMSC 498A/499A, or through the CAAR REU program.
If you are interested in getting involved in research, we recommend you take CMSC 498Y or CMSC 702 because we advertise openings and recruit undergrad students from these courses. We also encourage you to email me to check if there are open undergrad positions. If so, I will ask you to send me the following materials:
Non-UMD students. We are excited to work with undergrads from other institutions during the summer via the Combinatorics, Algorithms, and AI for Real Problems (CAAR) REU program. We encourage you to apply if you are eligible. Applications are typically due in late February / early March.