Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Elowe lab is looking for a graduate student!

November 29, 2024Uncategorizedbiology, birds, environment, graduate school, masters, michigan, sciencecoryelowe

The Elowe Lab at Northern Michigan University is recruiting a Masters (MS) student to work on bird ecophysiology (start date Fall 2025). We use techniques ranging from tissue-level gene expression to whole-animal measurements of metabolic rate and behavior to understand the physiological mechanisms that allow birds to persist across harsh conditions. Depending on the interests of the candidate, various potential projects are available in the lab and/or field, including studies of physiological flexibility in response to cold temperatures, acute exercise, or during recovery from migratory flight. This position includes a full tuition waiver and a graduate assistantship (starting at $11,461 per year) for two years (four semesters).

Applicants should have:

A strong interest and/or course background in animal physiology
An ability to work independently and collaboratively
An inclusive attitude
An interest in undergraduate education and/or mentorship
Willingness to work with birds in the field or captivity and/or tissues from birds
An interest in lab techniques (e.g. qPCR, enzyme assays, metabolite quantification)
A minimum 3.0 GPA (no exceptions)

The work may vary depending on the applicant’s interests, and therefore experience in the lab, field, or both may be strengths; however, training will be provided for the right applicant even without prior experience (including bird handling). Therefore, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn new skills are the most important qualifications, and applications from all students—particularly from historically excluded or marginalized groups—are encouraged!

To apply informally, please send a short statement on why you are interested in the position, an updated CV/resume, and unofficial transcripts to Dr. Cory Elowe (celowe@nmu.edu). All applications received by January 10, 2025 will receive full consideration, and two references will be required after initial consideration.

For more information on the graduate program at Northern Michigan University, please see here: https://nmu.edu/biology/masters-science-biology

We’re in the U.P.!

November 22, 2024Uncategorizedcoryelowe

This is a long overdue update, but as of August this year (2024), Cory is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Northern Michigan University!

It’s been a whirlwind getting settled in the Marquette, Michigan area and teaching Human Anatomy & Physiology this Fall semester, but it’s a stunning place, a wonderful community, and the students are fantastic. Looking forward to getting some excellent research off the ground and exploring this gorgeous region!

Kicking off flight with a protein boost!

April 19, 2023UncategorizedBird, birds, blackpoll warbler, endurance, flight, migration, migratory birds, physiology, science, yellow-rumped warblercoryelowe

A new chapter of my research was just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)!

A Blackpoll Warbler flies in the dark wind tunnel. These are nocturnal migrants, so all of the flights occurred after sundown when they would typically take off for their long flights (and when you get peak levels of sleep-deprived graduate students).

This research shows that migratory warblers flown in a wind tunnel for up to a record-breaking 28 hours burn a lot more protein than we expect in the first few hours of flight. This is surprising because most animals use protein as a fuel of last resort, since it comes from vital organs and muscles (which, yes, are important if you’re flapping non-stop for days on end)! While we don’t know why these birds burn so much protein early in flight, this does help to parse some of the options. For example, maybe they’re just really stressed when they start flying? Or maybe they use this to lighten their load right away by burning up organs that they don’t need while they’re flying, like their gut?

These migratory birds, like the Blackpoll Warbler shown below, are built for this kind of ultra-endurance exercise. But migratory birds are some of the most vulnerable species as the climate changes, so understanding how they use fuel in flight can help us figure out what they really need on their migratory journeys!

One of our captive migratory Blackpoll Warblers flying in the wind tunnel (Image credit: Sherri & Brock Fenton).

You can read more about the research at this UMass Amherst press release or at this Kudos board!

Also, a special thanks to Sherri & Brock Fenton for the wonderful photos of our Blackpoll Warblers in flight in the wind tunnel at the Advanced Facility for Avian Research!

The bird doctor is in!

December 21, 2022Uncategorizedbiology, Bird, birds, graduate school, migration, sciencecoryelowe

On December 15, I finally completed my Ph.D.!

I wrapped up six years worth of research with my PhD defense to a full room of folks on campus and an equally impressive showing live via Zoom, and thankfully with a recording I have been able to share it even further with folks who weren’t able to make it to the 9am weekday kickoff!! I’ve been so elated and feel a huge weight has lifted, no doubt thanks to the overwhelming show of support from friends, family, and colleagues.

I’m not sure that it’s fully registered yet, but I’m happy to reach this milestone with so many people to thank along the way. All of the research and the ups and downs along the way have really brought truth to our unofficial lab motto: “I don’t know if it’s possible, but it’s not impossible!”