Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate students typically join the Eliason lab during the academic year and work 5-15 h per week under the mentorship of a graduate student or postdoc. They earn academic credit (i.e., as a Directed Studies student) while learning about the basics of the research process: fish collection, fish husbandry, lab techniques, and experimental design. Eventually, students are given the opportunity to design, conduct and analyze their own hypothesis-driven experiments. All students are encouraged to attend our weekly lab meetings during the academic year. During the summer, undergraduate students join the lab for ~3 month paid immersive research programs (e.g., NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), UC LEADS, Worster Mentorship and Schmidt Mentorship programs). We also hire undergraduate students and recently graduated students to work as technicians.

Our undergraduate students have authored Senior Honors Theses, research posters, and peer-reviewed publications. They have presented their research at scientific conferences, including the EEMB Undergraduate Symposium and Western Society of Naturalists Annual Meeting.   

After leaving the Eliason lab, students have gone on to do amazing things! Next steps include: medical school, grad school, observer for NOAA in Alaska, field tech for Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, lab tech at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, field/lab tech for university labs, lab tech at biotech companies, field tech at consulting companies, medical tech in clinics. We wish all our Eliason lab alumni the best of luck!