We are always looking out for kind and curious minds with gumption to solve interesting problems.
Are you excited about the integration of biological development, synthetic biology, and biomechanics? Are you driven to learn about engineering for, in, with, and inspired by biology (yes, all of them)? Do you have the initiatives to carry out boundary-pushing research in a highly dynamic and inclusive environment?
Yes, yes, and yes? Well, our Lab might just be the place for you!
Undergraduate/MSc students
Motivated undergraduate/MSc students are welcome in the Lab to carry out a final year projects or summer internship. If you are interested in our research and keen to join, please get in touch. If you are Bioengineering students, projects available in the Lab will be posted in the Departmental student project database. If you are interested in developing your own project, please discuss with Naomi in the Spring/Summer term prior to project allocation. If you are interested in summer internship, consider applying for Imperial's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme. Most undergraduate and some masters students are eligible, regardless of where they are from. Please check the eligibility criteria.
MRes research
MRes students in Bioengineering and Life Sciences (and some other programmes) are welcome to consider conducting their thesis research in our Lab. If you are already enrolled in MRes programmes at Imperial, you may find project offering from our group in the project database of your programme.
If you are interested in doing MRes in Bioengineering in the BF+F Lab, please get in touch. We will together design a suitable project for you, combining your interests with ours and your training needs. For the first instance, please contact Naomi with your CV and personal statement explaining why you are interested in doing MRes and our line of research.
PhD studentships
There are several programmes you can apply to become a PhD student in our group, but it depends on your educational track record and background, professional experiences, nationality, and residency status.
We currently have two PhD studentship openings (to be started in April-October 2022):
One studentship will address the architectural designs of plant shoots and their adaptation to internal and external mechanical stimulations. How plants remodel their morphology, anatomy, and material properties in response to mechanical demands will be investigated with multi-scale mechanical characterization and structural-developmental computational modelling.
The other studentship will be on one of the following topics:
Synthetic biology of regenerative plant cell cultures (to generate slender body cells such as hairs and vascular cells) for cellular agriculture
Exploration of forms and function of haired plant surface
Dandelion-inspired functional (perhaps animated) materials development
If you are interested in applying, please contact Naomi with your CV and personal statement explaining why you are interested in doing PhD in our Lab. The best timing for this is August-November of the year before the intended timing of entrance.
Open positions will be advertised in multiple media, including this webpage and Naomi's Twitter account.
Talented prospective postdocs enthusiastic about our research areas are welcome to develop with us your own project for fellowship applications. Naomi and the Departmental support team will be happy to assist your applications. For the first instance, please contact Naomi with your CV and personal statement explaining your future plan and why you are interested in our line of research.
The eligibility criteria vary depending on the schemes, so please look into the best fitting few. Example schemes are: