The Toll and Wessinger research groups in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina are enthusiastically recruiting PhD students to start in Fall of 2025 to join our research community studying plant evolutionary and ecological genetics. The Toll lab studies ecological genetics in monkeyflowers. We are interested in understanding how plants adapt to different environments, how these adaptations contribute to the origin and maintenance of new species, and how they influence species interactions and distributions. For more information, see our website: https://sites.google.com/view/katherinetoll/home. Interested students should email Dr. Katherine Toll (ktoll@sc.edu) with a brief description of your research interests and CV. The Wessinger lab studies plant evolutionary genetics (of penstemons). Broadly, we are interested in the genetics of parallel/convergent evolution, speciation genetics, population genomics, and the maintenance of complex trait variation. For more information about our lab's research areas, see our website: https://wessingerlab.github.io. Interested potential students should email a CV and informal statement describing your interests in these research topics to Dr. Carrie Wessinger (wessinc@mailbox.sc.edu). The EEB group at USC is an interactive, supportive, and collaborative community with several new and growing labs with strengths in evolutionary genetics, evolutionary ecology, and comparative biology. The Toll and Wessinger research groups regularly interact with each other and with other active research groups in the department, including those of Eric Lopresti, Dan Speiser, Brian Hollis, Carol Boggs, Jeff Dudycha, Tim Mousseau, Tad Dallas, and Josh Stone, among others. Our departmental strengths are described here: https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/biological_sciences/research/index.php USC is located in beautiful Columbia, SC. Columbia is a diverse and affordable small city with a vibrant and walkable downtown, wonderful climate, and easy access to outdoor activities. Graduate students in our program are guaranteed support through RA and/or TA-ships, including tuition and stipend. The application deadline for applicants starting next fall is December 1. Please contact us directly by email before then so we can look out for your application. The application process is described here: https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/biological_sciences/apply/index.php Carrie Wessinger: wessinc@mailbox.sc.edu Kathy Toll: ktoll@sc.edu "Wessinger, Carrie" (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to golding@mcmaster.ca)