Mentor Areas
- Wastewater pathogen surveillance
- Environmental microbiology
- Next-generation sequencing & bioinformatics
Description:
The Annavajhala Lab, a.k.a. the TRACES (Tracking Epidemics in Sewage) Lab, is dedicated to understanding microbial dynamics in environmental systems. We use basic, translational, and applied approaches to translate microbiological and virological data from lab-scale wastewater bioreactor models, wastewater from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and other sources, and various environmental sampling efforts, with the ultimate goal of enabling clinically-relevant environmental and wastewater pathogen surveillance.
We are looking for undergraduate researchers to work alongside colleagues with diverse engineering, microbiology, and computational biology backgrounds. Primary responsibilities would include basic laboratory techniques such as wastewater collection, microbial (bacterial) culturing from wastewater samples, with the opportunity to learn more advanced techniques including PCR and qPCR, gel electrophoresis, DNA and RNA isolation, and next-generation sequencing & bioinformatics based on your interest and experience!
We are a new lab that just opened in September 2024 and are looking for adventurous researchers to jump start the team and produce cutting-edge research which can benefit patients and public health. Our goal is to be a research group where everyone has the opportunity to explore, think creatively and collaboratively, and truly work as a team to tackle pressing issues relevant to population health in diverse communities. Come join us!
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with basic microbiology concepts (laboratory coursework preferred but classroom exposure is a great start)
Interest in both "wet lab" and potentially some computational work (basic bioinformatics analyses - prior experience not required)
Curiosity, willingness to learn, and being ready to roll with the punches in this new and unpredictable field!
Project Website
Learn more about the researcher and/or the project here. Dr. Annavajhala's Personal Website
Details:
Preferred Student Year
Second-Year, Junior, Senior
Academic Term
Spring, Summer
I prefer to have students start during the above term(s).Volunteer
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to volunteers.Paid
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to paying students they engage in their research, regardless of their work-study eligibility.Work Study
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to hiring work-study-eligible students.