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Terrence Bell

Assistant Professor at University of Toronto Scarborough

Terrence Bell is an accomplished professional with a diverse educational background in the field of biology, ecology, and microbiology.

He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Environmental Microbiology from McGill University, a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Western University, and a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Biology from Queen's University.

Terrence Bell began his academic journey at Hillcrest High School, setting a strong foundation for his future in the scientific community.

Throughout his career, Terrence has held various esteemed positions, including Assistant Professor roles at the University of Toronto Scarborough and Penn State University.

He has also contributed significantly as an Atkinson Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University and as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at Université de Montréal.

In his earlier years, Terrence Bell engaged in valuable research and academic pursuits, such as his Ph.D. candidacy in Environmental Microbiology at McGill University and his M.Sc. studies at the University of Western Ontario.

His passion for research led him to roles as a Forestry Research Assistant at the University of Helsinki and a Biochemistry Research Assistant at the University of Ottawa.

Terrence Bell's educational achievements, coupled with his extensive work experience, underscore his profound knowledge and expertise in the realms of biology, ecology, and microbiology.

Highlights

Aug 4 · linkedin

GRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES: UNDERSTANDING AND MODIFYING MICROBIAL NICHE BREADTH

I am looking for M.Sc. or Ph.D. students to begin in the lab in 2024. Projects can focus on the fundamental and/or applied consequences of microbial niche breadth. Fundamentally, microbial compatibility with various environments helps to determine microbial biogeography. While a broad environmental range may provide benefits to a microbe, there are likely costs to carrying more survival traits; however, we know little about the relative costs of different types of generalism (e.g. resource generalists vs. thermal generalists). From an applied perspective, understanding the factors that shape the niche breadth of microorganisms can help us in designing more effective microbial inoculants, for agriculture and otherwise. Such inoculants are promising alternatives to chemical additives, such as inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, but are still largely unpredictable in field settings.

Project development will depend on a combination of lab needs and student interests, but I expect most student projects will contribute to one of the following three areas:

1.Environmental filtering to collect microbes with unique ecological traits 2.Directed evolution to modify microbial niche breadth 3.Modification of environmental stressors and opportunities to affect in-field microbial survival and function

To date, I have worked with an amazing and diverse group and appreciate the value that many types of diversity have brought to our work. This includes, but is not limited to, diversity in academic training, problem-solving approaches, and personal backgrounds and experiences. Je suis content d’intéragir en anglais ou en français.

Baseline funding will reflect standards in the particular graduate program that the student applies to. Students may either apply to the M.Sc. or Ph.D. programs in Environmental Science or in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

If interested, please send a CV, a letter of interest, unofficial transcripts, and contact info for 3 references to [email protected]. Note that I receive many unfocused supervision requests every day, so will only respond to messages that demonstrate genuine interest in our research.

Information on the Department can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gKe_ifds

*While I encourage anyone to express interest, admissions for international graduate students (those who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents) will be extremely competitive because of program funding structures.

May 11 · linkedin

Hi everyone...I am currently recruiting for at least one postdoc position at the University of Toronto - Scarborough. I will review strong applications anytime, but please submit requested materials by May 31, 2023 for full consideration. Thanks for reading and sharing!

Terrence Bell
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Location

Scarborough, Ontario, Canada