Watsa M, Erkenswick GA, Pomerantz A, Prost S (2020) Portable sequencing as a teaching tool in conservation and biodiversity research. PLoS Biol 18(4): e3000667. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000667
Step into the world of cutting-edge conservation genetics at the Los Amigos Biological Station, where science meets adventure in the heart of the Amazon rainforest! As a participant, you’ll split your time between fieldwork—tracking wildlife and collecting biological samples—and hands-on laboratory research in our state-of-the-art BSL-II molecular lab. Here, you’ll work alongside our genetics team using advanced sequencing instruments and automated pipetting robots to extract, enrich, and analyze DNA, uncovering the secrets of biodiversity.
Our research is diverse and ever-evolving. From species barcoding and pathogen diagnostics to metabarcoding and full genome sequencing, we don’t just focus on one or two species—we study an entire web of life. Over the past 15 years, our program has expanded from nonhuman primates to nearly all vertebrate taxa, sampling nearly 1,000 animals per year. This has built a biobank, brimming with genetic data just waiting for new discoveries.
Beyond genetics, you may have the opportunity to explore mercury bioaccumulation research assisting with our DMA-80 mercury analyzer. Gold mining in the Amazon releases toxic mercury into river systems, impacting wildlife at multiple trophic levels. Some species have even shown epigenetic changes due to prolonged mercury exposure—a crucial issue in global conservation science.
With only 3–4 research assistant (RA) spots available, this is an exclusive opportunity for those eager to dive into real-world molecular research. Unlike typical programs, we don’t structure activities around RAs—you’ll be immersed in active projects, gaining hands-on experience with cutting-edge techniques.
While prior experience in sterile lab techniques, data management, or bioinformatics is helpful, it’s not required—bring your curiosity, dedication, and passion for science!
If you fully participate and earn the trust of field and laboratory teams, it is likely that you’ll walk away with some unusual and valuable life and research skills.
These can include:
Who Should Join?
Who we are looking for:
Minimum Requirements
Preferred Skills
Principal Investigators
Dr. Mrinalini Watsa began a love affair with the rainforest in the backyard of her home in India, virtually overrun with cobras, chameleons and even jackals. She has a PhD in biological anthropology from Washington University in Saint Louis, with a specialization in molecular genetics of vertebrates. As a co-founder of Field Projects International, she has managed a mark-recapture program with wild primates in Peru for more than a decade, and run both university and field molecular genetics laboratories in the US and Peru. Today she is a researcher with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance where her work focuses on field-based conservation genomics for species in Africa, Asia and the Neotropics.
Read more about her work here.
Dr. Gideon Erkenswick co-founded Field Projects International and has spent over 12 years working in the Neotropics leading research programs focused on primate behavior, disease ecology, and mark-recapture. He completed a doctorate in biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) in molecular disease ecology in 2017 and a postdoctoral research position on pathogen-host dynamics and gene regulation at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine in 2022. Gideon currently directs the global In Situ Laboratory Initiative (ISL) that aims to expand genetic research infrastructure and capacity for disease surveillance, biodiversity characterization, and wildlife population monitoring to key ecoregions in Asia Pacific, East Africa, and South America.
Read more about his work here.
Dr. Jenny Chen is a computational genomicist interested in investigating biology by analyzing genomics data from species across the tree of life. She is interested in developing computational tools to understand how genetic evolution gives rise to phenotypic evolution. She received her PhD from MIT and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. Jenny took the first Genomics in the Jungle course in 2018 and works with Gideon on developing tools for viral genomics surveillance.
Read more about her research here.
1. Apply online here. You will need a CV/resume and two references.
2. Once we hear from your references, we will schedule an interview with the principal investigator of your desired project
3. If accepted, you will be notified within 1 week
4. Upon acceptance, gain student access to online training modules to get prepared before you arrive.
5. Turn in medical info, vaccination record, liability waivers, etc.
6. See you in the field!
If FPI cancels a program due to complications related to COVID-19, participants would receive all but 1.5% of fees already paid. The 1.5% represents the credit processing fees charged to FPI for accepting online payments.
Our cancellation policy is:
Yes, but it would have to be approved by your university, who will also bill you for the credit hours. If approved, there is also an additional $250 fee that serves as a mentorship fee for the FPI senior scientist mentoring you through this project. From there, it is just a matter of coordinating between your university mentor and the FPI researcher.
In order to train our research teams, it is necessary that everyone arrives on specific start dates and be trained together to stay on pace with their cohort.
In addition, we arrange to meet the arriving groups and escort them to pick up any last-minute supplies before leaving very early the following morning to the field station. Getting to the field station requires travel overland to a small town called Laberinto (~45 minutes), then a 4-5 hour boat ride upriver. All of this would be difficult for most participants to do alone, which is why we ask that you arrive on fixed program start dates.
If you REALLY cannot make a particular start date, don’t abandon hope – email us and we can do our best to accommodate you.
There are pretty firm minimum requirements for each long-term research training program (typically 5 weeks). These are firm because each participant must be trained, during which time the data they collect cannot be relied upon entirely.
On the other hand, for most programs you are welcome to apply for stays that are longer than the minimum period, which is common among our student researchers. This can be arranged beforehand, or even sometimes in the field if accommodation is available at the field station.
If you have a special circumstance and want to request a shorter program time, you may contact us and we will discuss it with the lead investigators on your chosen project. There is no guarantee, but in the past we have been able to accommodate on occasion.
Our courses have fewer enrollment requirements, and we strongly encourage anyone to apply. The long-term programs involve becoming an integral part of a research team, and thus are more competitive.
You absolutely can apply to both a field course and a long-term training program if the dates will line up! In fact, if you are accepted into the long-term program you can attend a field course for a lower fee (typically a $400 discount)
No, you do not need previous research experience. These are training programs designed for participants at all levels. It can be hard to acquire field experience, so we balance our teams with veteran researchers and those new to the world of field research. We seek bright and enthusiastic candidates with the right temperament to work in this challenging environment.
The cost to participate includes:
Program fees do NOT include:
A large majority of the fees paid to our training programs cover lodging fees charged by the host field station. Importantly, at the Los Amigos Biological Station lodging fees not only support the cost of running and maintaining a remote field site, but contribute to the larger mission of their parent NGO (Association for the Conservation of the Amazon Basin) to protect conservation areas, monitor deforestation, maintain wildlife corridors, and more.
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
We are now able to offer a peer-to-peer fundraising program for research assistants. Once accepted, you would be able to (optionally) create a shareable profile on our platform. This is a team-based initiative, so half of your raised funds will go toward your own program fees, while the other half will go into pool to be split evenly among all program participants who had at least 5 donors. More details will be available during (and after) your interview.
Scholarships
We offer three scholarships to our programs & courses in field biology and conservation.
All Scholarships Cover:
Scholarships Do Not Cover (unless specifically noted):
*Ensure you meet the qualifications for the scholarship you are applying for before submitting an application.
Other Options
If you require help with the cost of the program, there are other options that you might pursue as well. You could start by contacting the Office of Undergraduate Research of your school, or request professional development support from your employer. Here you can explore what is available through your college/place-of-work, as well as through external funding sources. Many universities have SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship) programs, which may provide stipends for students to pursue independent research. Please note that if you do find any kind of research-related funding — as many RAs have in the past — it will need to be applied for in conjunction with us, on research projects that we approve. In this case, one of our principal investigators will consult with you about developing a project that is feasible.
All participants are required to show proof of medical insurance before joining us in the field. Many travel insurance providers can assist with emergency medical coverage and emergency medical evacuation. Be certain that COVID-19 is covered in your plan.
You will have to provide proof of a normal vaccination record (as listed here by the CDC). For travel to Peru, we require that you also get the following vaccines:
If you have the flu shot for the year, all the better. Find a travel clinic and get your shots EARLY.
A fully independent research project is not feasible in this program due to time constraints, as well as the fact that all research projects must be sanctioned by the field station, approved by an IRB/IACUC, and have the required permits from the relevant government agencies in Peru. All of our research projects have obtained the necessary approvals and permits, which cover the specific data we collect and how we use it.
That said, some candidates may have an opportunity to win a grant that will fund their program fees and travel, and that grant requires them to submit a research proposal. If this is your situation, we may be able to work with you on a proposal. You can contact us at info@fieldprojects.org and let us know your situation. Then after you officially apply to the program, you can discuss this in greater depth with one of our senior scientists.
We cannot accommodate completely independent projects, but we can assist you with finding a subset of our samples or data that has not yet been fully analyzed, which you could potentially develop further under our supervision.
Yes, you can. We do not give co-authorship for collecting data alone, but we offer interested students the opportunity to work on data analyses after the summer research program, that could lead to co-authorship in the future. Many of our former field team members have gone on to become research collaborators.
Our programs will proceed as planned unless global travel restrictions prevent our team from reaching the field site, or the field site is shut down.
In the event of an ongoing pandemic, quarantine and testing protocols will be observed to ensure that no one exposes another team member or animal to the infectious agent. In addition to our programs protocols, all persons will have to comply with national travel regulations. In 2021 & 2022 during COVID-19, our field station qualified as a quarantine site since it met all government-approved COVID protocols, and has the capacity to maintain social distance between all visitors.
Our enhanced protocols in laboratory and wildlife handling situations are designed to meet or exceed scientific best practices. They are drafted in conjunction with our Peruvian partners (Conservacion Amazonica), Peruvian authorities (SERFOR) and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUC) of our affiliate research universities. Broadly speaking, they will involve strict use of face masks, N95 masks, and gloves during specific activities.
Participants will receive detailed instructions on our procedures prior to departing for the field site.
The first signs of suspected symptoms or a temperature above 100 degrees Fahrenheit should be reported immediately to the field station managers and FPI senior scientists. They will have protocols for isolating symptomatic guests, arranging viral testing, notifying those you have been in contact with, and evacuating you to the nearest hospital if necessary.
(Note that travel to a hospital and any care there is at your own cost; make sure your insurance policy covers this.)
The nearest healthcare facilities are in Puerto Maldonado, which is approximately 4-5 hours downriver from our field site. In that city, our Peruvian partners have a recommended doctor certified by MINSA (the Ministry go Health). There are also other private and public healthcare options. The private facilities are more expensive (one of the reasons we require participants to have travel medical insurance), but they will likely be able to treat patients faster if public facilities are full.
The second option would be in Cusco, which is approximately 10 hours by car from Puerto Maldonado. There are more clinics in Cusco than Puerto Maldonado.
*While everyone will have their temperatures taken upon arrival by an infrared thermometer, we suggest that participants bring their own thermometers in their first-aid kits, and check themselves daily.
If a person must leave the field station to get treatment and recover from COVID-19, they will be permitted to return after 7 days with a negative antigen test. A negative molecular test will let someone back to the station after 14 days.
Location: 443 Old Via Rancho, Escondido CA 92029
Phone: +1 (314) 649-8636