We look for highly motivated Ph.D. students and Postdoctoral fellows. These positions will be supported by NIH grants (NHLBI-R01, NCI-R01, NIAID-R21, NCI-R21, etc.).
We study lymphatic biology, cancer biology, immunology, and regenerative medicine by employing 3D tissue engineering tools, organs-on-chip, organoids in vitro platforms, molecular biology methods, and in vivo animal models. Below is the expertise we seek.
[Biomaterials and In Vivo Implantation]
- Developing new biomaterials and related fabrication technologies (e.g., 3D printing) for next-generation engineered tissues/devices implantation in vivo.
- Blood and lymphatic vascular patch development for in vivo implantation to promote blood and lymphatic vessel function in related diseases (e.g., lymphedema, lipedema, ischemia, glaucoma, diabetes, etc.).
- Expanding biomaterials and device technologies to finely tune the properties in vitro and then translate the in vitro findings to the in vivo organ regeneration and replacement in vivo.
[Microfluidics and Organoids]
- Designing, fabrication (soft lithography, 3D printing, etc), and characterization of microfluidic devices, lab-on-chip, organ-on-chip, 3D cellularity, tissue level in vitro modeling
- Cell seeding, cell culturing & maintaining on-chip; and investigating cell mechanics, cell-cell interactions, cell secretome, cell morphology on-chip
- Experience in developing tissue-level 3D mono/multi-cellular structure in vitro
- Experience in organoids, stem cells, multicellular behaviors, and cells in shear stress
- Organoid technologies in immunity, vascular, lymphatic, cancer, and organ regenerative medicine, vascularization of organoids, implantation of the organoids
- iPSCs differentiation to specific cell types (e.g., liver, gut, brain, heart, endothelial cells, pericytes, etc.).
- Monitoring and characterizing organoid development in vitro and in vivo
- Molecular biology, Cell biology, biochemistry skills in the areas
[Vascular and Lymphatic Biology]
- Blood and lymphatic vascular development, morphogenesis, homeostasis, and pathogenesis in vitro and in vivo
- Purification, maintaining, modifying and culturing of blood/lymphatic vascular endothelial cells and vascular mural cells isolated from animal and human samples
- Monitoring vascular morphology and function in vitro and in vivo
- Developmental biology in blood vasculature and lymphatics, morphogenesis, mechanotransduction
- Monitoring tumor/immune cell interactions to the vasculatures in vitro and in vivo
- In vivo implantation of engineered tissues
- Vascular/lymphatic disease animal models in vivo (lymphedema, hypertension, vascular leakage, stroke, inflammatory disease, AMD, glaucoma, atherosclerosis, etc.).
- Molecular biology, Cell biology, biochemistry skills in the areas
[Immunology]
- Adaptive immunity, innate immunity, and lymphoid organ biology
- Purification, adaptation, activation, FACS characterization, modification and engineering of immune cells (dendritic cells, T/B lymphocytes, macrophages, etc) obtained from animal and human samples
- Monitoring immunity in vitro and in vivo
- Modeling systemic/local infections in animal models and in vitro models
- Cancer immunotherapy, cancer immune evasion, cancer microenvironment
- In vivo imaging (live or fixed samples) of immune cells and lymphoid organs
- Expertise in lymphatics in cancer immunology, lymph nodes, and lymphoid organs
- In vitro immune cell maturation, migration, trafficking in 3D microfluidics.
- Molecular biology, Cell biology, biochemistry skills in the areas
[Cancer Biology]
- Tumor initiation, progression, and interactions with blood and lymphatic vascular structures
- Tumor microenvironment, tumor interstitial fluid pressure, tumor vasculatures and lymphatics, tumor stromal cells, tumor drug resistance
- Mechanobiology, traction force microscopy, cell migration, adhesion in tumor stroma and epithelial cells
- Monitoring tumor interactions to vasculature in vitro and in vivo; metastasis models
- Tumor immunotherapy, tumor immune evasion, immune cell trafficking
- Tumor metabolism, tumor metastasis, resistance
- Molecular biology, Cell biology, biochemistry skills in the areas
How to apply:
Ph.D. students: We do not have direct admission. Please apply for our graduate program first. Once you are admitted to Cornell BME or other graduate programs (Cornell BBS, BMCB, GGD, MAE, etc) and interested in rotating in our lab, please send your (i) cover letter and (ii) current CV to Dr. Lee (el767@cornell.edu).
Postdoctoral fellows: Please send your (i) cover letter and (ii) current CV that includes your degree information, publications, and the list of 3 references to Dr. Lee (el767@cornell.edu).
Cornell University is an innovative Ivy League university and a great place to work. Our inclusive community of scholars, students and staff contribute creative ideas to further the university’s mission of teaching, discovery, and engagement. The main campus in Ithaca sits at the southern tip of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. The Ithaca area offers a small-town lifestyle with the cultural and culinary qualities of larger cities, including the Moosewood Restaurant known for the first vegetarian cookbook. The climate of the region provides for a range of outdoor activities including boating/sailing, swimming, mountain biking and hiking in summer, to skiing and ice skating in winter.
The Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering is located in the College of Engineering on Cornell’s main campus in Ithaca, New York, with strong collaborative ties to the College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, and Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. Our global presence includes College of Medicine campuses in Manhattan and Doha, Qatar, and the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City.
Fundamental and applied research, and translational development are supported by an extensive network of centers and institutes (https://research.cornell.edu/content/centers-institutes-programs- laboratories) including the Cornell Center on the Physics of Cancer Metabolism, Cornell Neurotechnology NeuroNex Hub, Cornell Center for Materials Research, Cornell Nanoscale Facility, Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science, and the Kevin M. McGovern Family Center for Venture Development in the Life Sciences.