Graduate position available

Parameters for Working Together

For graduate school and postdocs, contact me if you:

1. Have a strong interest in a combination of plant ecophysiology, community ecology and trait-based ecology;
2. Are hard-working and fully committed to your studies;
3. Know what I work on. Read my Research page and pick a couple of my first-authored papers to read; and
4. Are committed to apply to external funding. (e.g. graduate scholarships: NSERC, OGS ; e.g. postgraduate scholarships: NSERC, MITACS – elevate, LiberEro)
5. Have read my mentoring philosophy (see pdf below) and find that it a good fit with you.

Please email me at julie [dot] messier [at] uwaterloo [dot] ca if you would like to discuss working with me. I welcome inquiries to join the lab from dedicated, autonomous and self-motivated students sharing my research interests.

Make sure to know my research interests, described on my research page, publications page and home page.  

If you meet the conditions above, Email me with (i) a cover letter (which can be the body of the email), (ii) your up-to-date CV and (iii) a pdf of relevant transcripts. In your cover letter, explain your background, interests and why you think this lab is a good fit for you. Describe the kind of research you have been doing and ideas about the research you would like to do with me. Last, make sure to personalize the email title. To know you are not sending me a mass-email and that you have read this page, add the word “Jigglypuff” in the title of your email 🙂 I do not read other application emails.  

People at the BSc (Honors), M.Sc., Ph.D. or postdoctoral levels are all welcome. I am happy to work with undergrads and grads on developing projects closely related to my own research.

Mentoring philosophy

My goal as an advisor is to help you:

• produce quality work
• become a thoughtful and independent researcher, broadly trained in ecology and evolution;
• develop independent research centered on your own interests and career goals;
• learn to identify knowledge gaps, current relevant questions and hypotheses, and  feasible methods.

This process is fun and rewarding, but it is also a lot of hard work requiring dedication. To succeed you must be committed to your project and the process of graduate school. In turn, I am committed to mentoring my students and I will be available for regular one-on-one meetings. You should plan to be engaged in lab meetings and seminars and to interact with other lab groups on campus.

We are committed to fostering a welcoming, safe, respectful and supportive environment for all persons. We cherish the variety of perspectives brought by diverse life experiences and backgrounds. See the document laying out my Lab Philosophy and Expectations here:

(Image borrowed and modified with permission from Dr. Dale Martin)