Join our team

Prospective graduate students

Update August 11, 2026 - to be considered for a start date of September 2027 please email me before August 30th, 2026. Any inquiries I receive after this date I will compile for a potential 2028 start.

Thank you for stopping by! As our research group is very new, we are working on building capacity and funding to be able to support more students. I plan to keep a small research group and will likely only accept 1-2 new students per year.

If you are interested in joining the lab please get in touch by emailing me at jgrimm [at] uvic [dot] ca. I am especially interested in hearing from students who are committed to developing a highly collaborative research project that centres relationships and reciprocity. In your email, please include:

• Your CV
• Unofficial transcripts
• A statement on your research interests. What questions are you interested in? Why do you want to do an MSc/PhD? What are your career goals? Why do you want to join the FICH lab, specifically?
• A description of your research experience*

*Formal research experience is great, but not absolutely necessary: I would like to see a demonstrated interest in your research topic (through life experience, work experience, etc).

As of now, I receive more applications than I can support, and am unlikely to be able to respond to emails that do not contain the above information. Funding is a challenge that you should think about well before you are hoping to begin your degree. I am more often able to take students who have applied/received scholarships. If you reach out to me early (~one year before you hope to start in the lab), I can help you with your scholarship and UVic applications.

Some funding sources to consider: NSERC Master’s scholarships, NSERC Doctoral scholarships

Some deadlines to consider: Admission to the biology department. NSERC MSc is usually due in December, NSERC PhD is usually due in October - but these deadlines may be earlier depending on your current institution, so check carefully.

Prospective undergraduate students

There are a few ways to get involved in our lab as a undergraduate student:

• Doing independent research as a directed studies or honours student. These positions are for credit towards your degree requirements. If you are interested in pursuing one of these options, please reach out. It is helpful if you have some research ideas you can share. Occasionally we might have a project we can assign you.
• Summer research assistantship. There are various awards you can apply for that will provide you with a summer stipend ~$10,000 to do research in a lab full time. These awards are very competitive and typically due in February for the coming summer. We will occasionally advertise positions for these in our lab, or you can reach out before the deadline so we can develop an application together.
• Work/study. These are paid positions in the lab during the fall and spring terms. Eligible students mut have a documented financial need and be enrolled in 4.5 units for credit during the semester. We will occasionally advertise these positions.

Prospective post-docs and visiting researchers

I am very interested in hearing from you! I have very limited funding to support post-docs, but would be happy to speak with you about potential collaborations and apply for funding together.