John J. & Anna H. Gallagher Fellowship

A fellowship for the Study of the Rarer Microscopic, Multicellular Invertebrate Animals, with Priority for the Study of Rotifera

About the Fellowship

The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia is pleased to offer a unique opportunity for original postdoctoral or sabbatical research on the systematics of microscopic invertebrates with priority for the study of rotifers. The project must be based at the Academy, although fieldwork and visits to other museum collections are encouraged, and the scope should be narrow enough to permit completion during a period of up to twelve months. The research focus must be on systematics and may employ ecological, behavioral, physiological, molecular or developmental tools. The Academy affords many opportunities for collaboration with other systematists.

The rotifer collection of the Academy is now the largest and most important of its kind in the western hemisphere, and has international significance (rotifer.ansp.org/rotifer.php). This collection was started during the 1930s and early 1940s by F. J. Myers, probably the most productive American rotifer taxonomist. At the time when Myers was a research fellow at the Academy, he was involved in studies on the micro-fauna of freshwater habitats in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. An important number of slides have been donated by Myers' colleagues such as E. H. Ahlstrom and B. Carlin. The rotifer collection of W. T. Edmondson has been incorporated into the Academy's collection, and recent Gallagher Fellows have added specimens from North America, Brazil, Mongolia, and Hawaii.

Salary and project start date are negotiable.

Application Information

Applications are not being accepted at this time. 

The following materials are required:

• curriculum vitae
• statement of research interests
• a 3-5 page description of the project (including salary request, research project costs, and a timeline)
• the names and contact information of three references

The materials may be sent by email or post to:

Meghan Bucci
John J. & Anna H. Gallagher Fellowship
The Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103-1195

Application Forms and supporting information can also be sent to mmb449@drexel.edu