I mentor students at different levels at ISU. I have taught undergraduate courses such as Evolutionary Biology, Herpetology, Introductory Biology, Environmental Biology, and graduate courses such as Evolutionary Ecology, plus seminars at both levels such as Evolutionary Ecology of Sex. Additionally, I provide motivated and diligent students with research opportunities in my laboratory through graduate rotations, independent research, honors theses, or summer internships. I am a faculty member in the interdepartmental graduate program of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), the interdepartmental graduate program in Genetics and Genomics (IGG), and the interdepartmental graduate program of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BCB).
Classroom Courses
- Biol 315 - Evolution: 3cr undergraduate course (Offered each Spring)
- Biol 457 - Herpetology: 2cr undergraduate lecture course and 1cr lab course (Offered in the Fall of odd years)
- EEB 511 - Conceptual Foundations in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: 4cr graduate course (Offered in the Fall of even years)
- Biol414/EEOB514 - Life Histories and Reproduction: Dual Listed 3cr Seminar (Not offered currently)
Opportunities for Prospective Students
Information for Prospective Graduate Students
Prospective graduate students interested in evolutionary biology, sex determination, evo-devo, chromosome/genome evolution, or epigenetics, are invited to apply, and are encouraged to develop an independent research project within these areas. I expect PhD students to be more involved in designing their own research projects than Master's students.
If you are interested in joining our group, please contact me at nvalenzu@iastate.edu to explore possible options. Most interested graduate students could apply to the EEB, IGG, or BCB programs. For more information regarding the research interests of our lab, please visit our research page.
Internships for Undergraduate Students
My lab conducts research in several areas of biology, some which are more involved than others. I am interested in recruiting students to work in the lab who are devoted to learning through hands-on experience. The type of research we do requires people who are applied and meticulous. Undergraduate students can work on smaller modules for research credits (Biol490R or Genet490R), summer internships, or towards an honor’s thesis project on topics closely related to the research areas. Internship oppotunities are available through the Iowa Turtle Army program in my lab and the REU in Molecular Biotechnology and Genomics at ISU.
Iowa Turtle Army
Internships for undergraduates and K-12 teachers
The ITA provides internship opportunities for undergraduate students and K-12 teachers. Learn more about the ITA program on the Iowa Turtle Army page.
K-12 Educational Material by ITA RET Interns
RET K-12 teacher interns developed curricular material during summer internships with the ITA, including posters and lesson plans. It is intended that this material be shared for their use by peer teachers and institutions. Credit should be given to the authors of the material and the funding sources that enable their development. Funding was provided in part by supplements IOS-0826664, IOS-0924290, and IOS-0924290 to NSF grant IOS 0743284, and grants IOS-0809547, MCB-0815354, MCB-1244355, IOS-1555999, and IOS-2127995 to Nicole Valenzuela.