Our lab group at Penn State has grown over the past four years. As a result, I have decided to pause adding new lab members (see People) for the most part. However, there are exceptions (See below).

Part-Time Undergraduate Researchers:

The Burghardt Lab relies on dedicated undergraduate researchers willing to learn and contribute to the lab’s progress. We aim to have a team of two to four UG researchers, including those who are just starting out with their degrees and those who are close to finishing. If you are interested, send an email to liana.burghardt at psu dot edu to express your interest.

Postdoc:

I don’t have any open postdoc positions at the moment, but if you are serious about joining the lab, I am happy to work with postdocs interested in securing their own funding (e.g., NSF postdoc, NIFA postdoc, or Fulbright Fellowship).

Research Technician:

No positions at the moment

Graduate students:

I am not planning on taking any new graduate students in FA25 or SP26 (see People) to ensure that I can provide robust mentorship and funding to my four current graduate students.

Interested in applying to the Burghardt lab in the more distant future? You can apply through various programs (e.g., Applied Environmental and Agricultural Sciences (AEPS), Ecology, Plant Biology, and Bioinformatics & Genomics). Contact me for guidance on which program suits you best. If accepted, funding is guaranteed for 2 years for a Master’s degree and 5 years for a Ph.D. This funding consists of a mix of graduate and tuition assistantships from the department, PSU internal fellowships and scholarships, grants to PI-Burghardt for specific projects, and external fellowships students apply for (e.g., NSF GRFP and USDA predoctoral fellowships). Depending on the situation, I can help with external funding applications. If you are interested in applying, please send a ‘pre-application’ in late summer/early fall with an email describing briefly your educational journey to date, future interests and goals, and a CV. This will serve as a springboard for a conversation.