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Program Overview
Mote Marine Laboratory (Mote), an independent not-for-profit institution established in 1955, has recently adopted a new 2020 Vision & Strategic Plan that includes as one of Mote’s four core priorities, “Ensure the long-term prosperity of the research enterprise through focused staff recruitment and nurturing programs.” In order to address this specific priority, a new Mote Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program is being established with an initial goal of recruiting two such positions in late 2011.
New Postdoctoral Fellows are expected to begin between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011. Each full-time position includes:
- Annual salary of $40,000
- Health insurance provided with family options
- Benefits include an opt-in retirement plan with employer matching, leaves for holidays, illness and vacation and other benefits.
- Dedicated mentorship from an established and assigned researcher. (Click for Mote mentors.)
- Dedicated office/laboratory space
- Funds for startup, operations and travel.
Each Fellowship position will be for a period of two years (assuming appropriate first-year progress). The Mote Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program goal is to have eight concurrent Fellowship positions overlapping each year by 2020.
As an independent, nonprofit, mission-based organization, Mote’s greatest strength has been its ability to define its own agenda and research based on our communities’ needs and our scientists’ expertise. Mote is committed to being a leader in nationally and internationally respected research programs that are relevant to conservation and the sustainable use of marine biodiversity, healthy habitats and natural resources. We envision a comprehensive and integrated Mote enterprise with research, innovation and public education and outreach programs that are among the most creative and fruitful in the world.
Postdoctoral Fellows will be selected based on their ability to not only strengthen and diversify the Laboratory’s significant existing research expertise, but also the potential to establish their own innovative research initiatives that address Mote’s new 2020 Vision & Strategic Plan. Exemplary Fellows may be invited to join Mote as Staff Scientists upon completion of their initial successful two-year appointment.
Mote’s research extends throughout the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and tropical to polar environments. The main 10-acre campus is headquartered on City Island near Lido Key in Sarasota, Fla., with a nearby 200-acre inland marine aquaculture research park in Sarasota County; a fisheries research station in Charlotte Harbor (Lee County — Southwest Florida) and a Tropical Research Laboratory on Summerland Key (Monroe County — Florida Keys).
Mote’s existing research programs include aquatic toxicology, benthic ecology, chemical fate & effects, coastal resources, coral reef restoration science & monitoring, dolphin & whale hospital, dolphin research, environmental health, fisheries assessment & ecosystem management, fisheries habitat ecology, sturgeon aquaculture, manatee research, marine aquaculture, marine biomedical & immunology, marine microbiology, phytoplankton ecology, sea turtle conservation & research, sea turtle hospital, sensory biology & behavior, shark biology, stock enhancement and stranding investigations. The Laboratory also includes a marine policy institute. Click to learn more.
Mote’s present situation creates new opportunities for innovative research, including:
- World-class marine aquaculture facilities and on-site coral ecosystem research facilities
- Tri-national agreement between Mexico, Cuba and U.S. marine scientists & resource managers
- Affiliation agreements with the University of South Florida (USF at Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota) and the University of the West Indies (Mona campus and Discovery Bay & Port Royal marine laboratories)
- William R. and Lenore Mote Eminent Scholar Chair and international symposia in fisheries ecology with Florida State University
- National Center for Shark Research
- Florida Sea Grant, Florida Institute of Oceanography, Florida Coastal Ocean Observing Systems Consortium and SO-COOL, Mote’s coastal ocean observing laboratory
- 1.3 million gallon seawater system dedicated for research purposes
Mote is part of a growing marine research enterprise zone on the Florida Gulf coast that includes the Gulf of Mexico Alliance and three National Estuary Programs (Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor), Southeast Regional Headquarters of the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program including the Florida Keys, Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council, Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Institute of Oceanography, USF College of Marine Sciences, SRI, U.S. Geological Survey’s St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, and numerous national wildlife refuges and state aquatic preserves. Mote is also a member institution of the Florida Institute of Oceanography. |
How to Apply
Recent Ph.D. graduates and others with prior postdoctoral experience are invited to apply. Applications from any field of marine science including engineering, social science and policy will be considered.
Equal consideration will be given to candidates working in Mote’s current fields of inquiry, candidates that meld Mote’s current fields of inquiry and candidates who will pursue new research directions addressing issues related to: climate change impacts on resiliency and restoration of coral reef ecosystems, marine biotechnology and ecogenomics, marine sensory biology and behavior, marine conservation science, derived products for human health and quality of life, etc.
Competitive applications will focus on research programs that are relevant to conservation and the sustainable uses of marine biodiversity, healthy habitats, and natural resources; will bring or propose new multi-investigator/institutional collaborations to Mote and will be cognizant of global issues.
Applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. in 2011.
A complete application will be a single pdf file containing:
- A letter of interest and availability, including employment status
- Official academic transcript of doctoral studies and successful award or copy of the Ph.D. or equivalent professional degree
- Curriculum vitae
- A three-page essay describing the applicant’s intended research program and mentor. (Click for the mentor list.)
- Three representative journal publications (in press or published)
- As appropriate, the name and contact information of major professor and/or postdoctoral supervisor
- Names of three references, including their complete contact information and availability between June 29 – Aug. 1, 2011
Please Note: Novel media or formats other than pdf that are essential to an individual’s application may be submitted. Mote Marine Laboratory is an EOE/ADA/E-Verify employer.
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