Thank you for your interest in our lab. People are the engine driving research and science. Regardless whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student, or postdoc, we are always looking for excellent, creative and highly motivated people to push the boundaries of science.

For undergraduate students: As a junior team member, you will be paired with a senior PhD student or postdoc and provide research support for his/her projects. During the academic year, you are expected to commit 10 hours a week in the lab and full-time over the summer months (Yes, you can take a few weeks off to travel, visit family, or just get a mental break). If you are interested, please email your CV and a brief statement of research experience and objective to Prof. Jeroen Eyckmans.

For prospective graduate students: Please apply to the BME PhD program at Boston University.

For postdoctoral scholars: Given that our research is at the interface between engineering, cell biology and medicine, we welcome postdoctoral scholars/clinical fellows with a background in cellular, molecular, or synthetic biology, biomaterials, orthopedic surgery, wound healing, biophysics, tissue engineering, and bioengineering. Interested candidates should email a cover letter, CV, a statement of research interests, relevant publications and the contact addresses of three references as one electronic PDF-file to Prof. Jeroen Eyckmans.

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Philosophy

Well…since you made it this far, I assume that I have your attention! So, let me share you a few thoughts on research and the values my lab stands for.

Research is like solving a gigantic puzzle, but with a twist. Your puzzle piece is blank (i.e. the ‘unknown’) and you must carve out the shape of the piece (i.e. research) in order for it to fit with neighboring pieces (i.e. the literature). Only when your piece fits the others, then the image (i.e. ‘science’) reveals itself. You will spend a great deal of effort on ‘creating’ that one puzzle piece (i.e. publication) without solving the whole puzzle since you must carve out your puzzle piece without a reference picture,. In other words, you likely won’t cure cancer, or regenerate limbs and organs in humans during your tenure in the lab, but you will hopefully solve one research question that moves the scientific community closer to solving a broader and clinically significant problem.

The process of crafting the proverbial ‘puzzle piece’ is exciting and stimulating, but it may also be challenging and frustrating due to failing experiments, or that you don’t get the answers that you hoped for. Therefore, the word ‘RE-search’. Interestingly, failing and undertaking exciting research go hand in hand. If a researcher never fails, they are not exploring new ground. If you join my lab, I essentially want you to fail. But, more importantly, I want you to rise up once again. Although everyone experiences failure differently, hard-working trainees with a positive demeanor and who listen, take advice and discuss new ideas with their peers seem to find answers far more quickly than those who do not. Therefore, for the sake of scientific productivity and the well-being of every lab member, I will always encourage collaboration, mentorship, and open discussion, and I’ll nurture an all-inclusive lab environment in which every lab member can be themselves and is respected by other team members regardless of background, race, gender, and sexual orientation. I expect the same from my trainees.