Resources and Opportunities

Center for Comparative Genomics
​The Center for Comparative Genomics was established in the summer of 2008 to serve the California Academy of Sciences Research Division and its students with the resources necessary to participate in the growing field of genomics. The CCG is a three-unit facility that includes a comparative genomics laboratory, a 280-core high performance computing cluster and a CryoCollection of genetic resources. The CCG has three primary objectives: to provide our researchers with the latest tools available from the field of comparative genomics, to encourage large scale collaborative projects with researchers from other institutions, and to attract top graduate students, post-docs, and future curators. Headed by Brian Simison and Athena Lam, the CCG includes nine rooms, two capillary DNA sequencers, eight PCR machines, two ultra-cold freezers (-80ºC), six desktop computers, a supercomputer, and all equipment and instruments required for DNA sequencing, cloning and computing. Acadmey researchers are currently involved in more than 20 molecular systematics projects, including analyses of Caribbean turtles and seahorses, Chinese melastomes, nudibranchs from the “Coral Triangle,” birds of New Guinea, spiders, beetles, and barnacles from Madagascar, and many others.
More about the lab
More about CCG projects

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) Lab
The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) lab consists of a LEO/Zeiss 1450 VP SEM and several pieces of ancillary equipment. The SEM is based on a tungsten thermionic electron gun and is capable of magnifications above 100,000X. Features as small as 50 nanometers can be resolved. The SEM images are in digital TIF format, with a maximum resolution of 3072x2300 pixels. Normally all specimens must be fully dried and mounted on an SEM stub and coated with a very thin layer of gold before being put in the SEM. The instrument has 3 electron detectors, a normal secondary electron (SE) detector, a variable pressure electron detector and a backscatter detector. There is also a vacuum sputter coater for coating specimens with a thin layer of gold (around 20nm thickness) and a CO² critical point drier. The lab is located in a new space designed specifically for the SEM on the lowest level of the building so as to eliminate vibrations that would otherwise ruin the imaging. The lab is supervised by Scott Serata and I am available to either run the SEM for researchers or train users so they can run by themselves.

Ant Course
​Ant Course is a workshop designed primarily for systematists, ecologists, behaviorists, conservation biologists, and other biologists whose research responsibilities require a greater understanding of ant taxonomy and field research techniques. Emphasis is on the evolution, classification, and identification of ant genera. Lectures include background information on the ecology, life histories, and evolution of ants. Field trips emphasize collecting and sampling techniques, and associated lab work focuses specimen preparation, sorting, and labeling. Information on equipment, literature, and myrmecological contacts are also presented.
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Summer Systematics Institute
Gain hands-on experience while working alongside renowned scientists—and jump-start your career in natural sciences research—with an eight-week, museum-based, paid internship. SSI offers undergraduates important insights into the contributions that collections-based research can make to critical issues such as worldwide threats to biodiversity, and the origins and diversification of life.
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Biological Illustration Internship
Collaborate with Academy scientists to develop publication-ready scientific illustrations of biological specimens during an eight-week, paid summer internship. Using ink, watercolor, and/or computer-assisted design, the Biological Illustration intern will learn how to present clear, accurate visual messages about scientific subject matter.
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The Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability and San Francisco State University have a long standing partnership and many of the Curators at the California Academy of Sciences have graduate faculty status in the Biology Department as Research Professors.  As faculty of both the California Academy of Sciences and San Francisco State University, they may accept and direct their own graduate students.  Graduate students advised by Academy Curators/Research Professors are enrolled at SFSU in the Biology Department.  To learn more about the opportunity for applying to SFSU, under the advisory of a Curator/Research Professor from the California Academy of Sciences, please visit  https://biology.sfsu.edu/graduate

Current Academy Research Professors are as follows:

Rebecca Albright, Assistant Curator, Invertebrate Zoology

Shannon Bennett, Chief of Science, Hind Dean of Science and Research Collections, Associate Curator, Microbiology

Jack Dumbacher, Curator, Ornithology and Mammalogy

Lauren Esposito, Assistant Curator and Schlinger Chair of Arachnology

​Brian Fisher, Patterson Scholar and Curator, Entomology

Terry Gosliner, Senior Curator, Invertebrate Zoology

Sarah Jacobs, Assistant Curator and Howell Chair of Western North American Botany

Rebecca Johnson, Co-Director, Community Science and Research Associate, Invertebrate Zoology

Durrell Kapan, Senior Research Fellow, Entomology

Rich Mooi, Curator, Invertebrate Zoology

Nathalie Nagalingum, Associate Curator and McAllister Chair of Botany

Luiz Rocha, Associate Curator and Follett Chair of Ichthyology

Peter Roopnarine, Curator, Invertebrate Zoology and Geology

Brian Simison, Associate Curator and Director of the Center for Comparative Genomics

Michelle Trautwein, Assistant Curator and Schlinger Chair of Diptera

Gary Williams, Curator of Invertebrate Zoology