Undergraduate

SFSU students: Undergraduate students may apply to conduct research in the Crook Lab by registering for Biol 699, by prior arrangement with Dr. Crook. Course credit is for one semester, but undergraduates should expect to spend at least two semesters in the lab (first semester as a volunteer).  Priority is given to Physiology majors in good academic standing, who have at least two semesters before graduation. Undergraduate students who do not fit this description may be admitted if there is space available.

→ Students interested in pursuing graduate or medical degrees should be aiming to join a lab in their Sophomore or Junior years.

REU program for external undergraduates: SFSU runs an annual REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates, NSF) program during the summer. This program allows non-SFSU students to work in the lab on a short-term project, while being housed on campus and participating in a cohort-based, full summer training experience. The application portal and general information about the program can be found here.

EXPECTATIONS

Typically undergraduate students are responsible for animal care, tank maintenance and general lab tasks. In their first semester they are paired with an experienced undergraduate or Masters student, and new students assist and contribute to established research projects. By the end of the first semester in the lab, each undergraduate can expect to take responsibility for their own experiment; this is typically one component of a larger research story.

Masters

Information about the different Biology Masters programs can be found here; students completing the Marine Biology or Physiology and Behavior Masters programs may conduct research in the Crook Lab. Applications open in October and close in February for the following Fall semester.

→ Prospective Masters students should have a thorough grounding in either Animal Behavior, Neuroscience or both. Applicants will have, ideally, at least one semester of undergraduate research experience working with live animals. Students lacking coursework in behavior and neuroscience, or who have no experience with animals, are not generally competitive in the application process.

Expectations

Masters students are expected to contribute to animal care, tank maintenance and general lab tasks throughout their tenure in the lab. By the end of their first semester Masters students should be ready to begin their independent research project. Masters projects should be original, relevant to the lab's research program, and be of sufficient scope to result in one or more primary research publications. Masters students are responsible for the conception, design and analysis of their project, and for the submission of a thesis describing their findings. Projects may be behavioral or neurophysiological, or a combination of both. 

Projects

AVAILABLE PROJECTS

Click on the Projects page to learn more about the lab's current research priorities.

Generally undergraduate students join a project that is underway. Masters students are expected to conceive and design an original project that fits within the lab's general research area.