Join the Lab

I have substantial professional training and experience in the area of mentorship, including a year serving in a 20 hour/week position as the STEM coordinator of a university-wide mentorship program for new graduate students at UC Riverside, as well as several years mentoring graduate and undergraduate students in research labs and through various programs. Check out my CV (on the “Team” page) for more details.

If you are interested in joining the lab as a PhD student or postdoctoral researcher, and you have already read about our research to check that your interests are complementary, please read the relevant section below and get in touch (jessica_tingle@brown.edu).

Brown and RISD undergrads should feel free to reach out any time, but are especially encouraged to look into the UTRA program – see below for details.

Undergrads

Undergrads often attend a few lab meetings before getting involved in the lab’s research. When you reach out to express interest in the lab, you will most likely be given lab meeting time (which changes semester to semester) with an invitation to come get to know us.

We usually have paid opportunities to Brown students through the SPRINT/UTRA program. For more information about the program, including upcoming application deadlines, check out the website: https://utra.brown.edu/students

Juniors and seniors at Brown can consider these fellowship opportunities to do summer research in the lab. If you are interested in applying to one of these for work in the Tingle Lab, it is best if you’ve already worked in the lab for at least a semester, and we should begin brainstorming ideas for your application before the end of the fall semester.

In 2025 and 2026, we accepted undergrads from other institutions to do paid summer research in the lab through an NSF REU program to host paid undergrads from other institutions (https://www.fuxjagerlab.com/reu). Summer 2026 is the last scheduled year for the current program, but stay tuned for future opportunities!

Undergrads in the lab may also be interested in getting new experiences elsewhere. I have begun compiling a list of opportunities, and will post more here as they come to my attention:

Prospective PhD students

I will most likely not be recruiting a new PhD student to start in Fall 2027. If you might be interested in applying for future years, feel reach out ahead of time. Brown’s application deadline is typically December 1. For more information on the EEOB graduate program and the application process, please see Brown’s website: https://www.brown.edu/academics/ecology-and-evolutionary-biology/graduate-education/admission

Prospective PhD students should send me an email describing your research interests and why my lab is a good choice for your academic and career goals, with a CV attached. For advice on writing a strong grad school inquiry email, you can check out this blog post: https://contemplativemammoth.com/2013/04/08/so-you-want-to-go-to-grad-school-nail-the-inquiry-email/.

Advice and resources for navigating all stages of the grad school application process:

If you are getting starting on the grad school application process well in advance, you might also want to look into predoctoral fellowships, which can provide good funding for several years of your graduate program:

  • Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution
  • NSF GRFP
    • Typically due in October; date TBD for 2026
    • Open to U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents
    • https://www.nsfgrfp.org/
  • DoD NDSEG
  • Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans
    • Due October 29, 2026
    • Open to “New Americans” under age 30, defined as 1) a naturalized U.S. citizen, a green card holder, an asylee or refugee, or someone who graduated from both high school and college in the United States; or 2) the child of immigrants to the U.S.
    • https://pdsoros.org/
  • HHMI Gilliam Fellowship Program
    • Applications will open in September 2026, with a due date TBD; the due date has previously been in early December
    • Open to U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents, and to DACA recipients
    • Student must be in the second or third year of their PhD program
    • https://www.hhmi.org/programs/gilliam-fellows
  • AAUW International Fellowships (Master’s and Doctoral Degrees)

International students may want to check out this list: https://www.greatcollegedeals.net/scholarships/international-students/

Prospective postdoctoral researchers

Although I am not currently hiring a postdoc on my own funding, I am happy to talk to anyone who might be interested in applying to a fellowship to work with me. It takes time to prepare a good application, so please contact me well before the deadline. See below for some fellowships you might consider.

search previous next tag category expand menu location phone mail time cart zoom edit close