Easier than you think!
Finding a Lab
Most research labs at The University of Chicago welcome undergraduate trainees. Nevertheless, one of the most daunting tasks for an undergraduate student interesting in pursuing research is identifying a mentor and lab in which to perform research. Here are a few approaches:
Possible steps for finding a lab…
Option 1:
Find faculty in areas that interest you
Choose an area of interest among The BSD Graduate Programs and find Faculty In... to see one sentence blurbs describing the work of faculty in this area. Select a faculty member to learn more about their research and their lab. You can also search for faculty you have met in your classes to learn more about their research.
Prospective biology majors interested in learning more about the variety of labs conducting biological research on campus can attend one or more quarters of the non-credit course BIOS 10098 Pizza with the PIs: Introduction to Biology Research at The University of Chicago. Offered Winter and Spring Quarters.
Option 2:
Phoenix Biology Research Database
The Phoenix Biology Club sends out a brief survey to BSD faculty annually to create a partial list of faculty who are interested in talking to undergraduates about joining their labs.
Phoenix Biology Research Database
CCRF Database
The College Center for Research & Fellowships maintains their own database of research positions - make sure to search within “Biological Sciences Collegiate Division” and verify that listings are up-to-date.
Reach Out
Email faculty members whose work interests you to let them know that you are interested in training in their lab, if there is space, and ask if they are open to meeting with you. Understand that faculty lead complicated lives, and in some cases will not respond to your email. Do not be discouraged, but have backup plans if you receive no response or the lab is full.
“… I overcame this hurdle only when an upperclassman currently working in a lab … told me something along the lines of "yeah you can literally just straight up cold-email them.” Most PIs are actually quite happy to receive interest from undergraduates. Worst-case scenario, the few that actually are too busy, they just won't respond. Nobody's gonna blacklist you for sending an email saying you're interested."
- Cailey Riggs, Researcher for Mitchell Lab & La Riviere Lab
Option 3:
BSCD Fellowships
Some BSCD Fellowships place students in labs. Follow the link above and read on individual programs. Accompanying the Handshake applications is more information about whether or not the program matches you with a mentor and lab as part of their enrollment process.
The table below is a non-exhaustive list of opportunities for undergraduate students to do research with BSCD faculty and PIs, reported by the researchers themselves. Some of these opportunities may have been filled, some opportunities will have not been captured in this list.
| Last Name: | First Name: | Email: | Global & Public Health | Immunology | Microbiology | Cellular & Molecular Biology | Cancer Biology | Bio-Chemistry | Translational Medicine | Clinical Research | Ecology | Evolution | Computational Biology / Medicine | Nuerobiology | Genetics / Genomics | Stem Cell Regeneration | Psychology, Psychiatry, and Behavioral Neuroscience | Marine Biological Labratory | Biological or Medical Imaging | Health Services and Outcomes Research | Radiology | Research Focus: | Paid | Work Study | Volunteers | Independent Study | Website: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McGuinn | Laura | laura.mcguinn@bsd.uchicago.edu | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Environmental and Social Risk Factors for Mental Health Outcome | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Lin | Hening | linh1@uchicago.edu | - | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Function, Regulation, and Targeting of Enzymes to Treat Human Diseases | - | - | Y | Y | voices.uchicago.edu/lingroup |
| Schwoerer | Simon | sschwoerer@uchciago.edu | - | - | - | Y | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Metabolism, Cancer Biology, Fibrosis, Inflammation | - | Y | Y | - | https://schwoererlab.uchicago.edu/ |
| Wesevich | Austin | austin.wesevich@uchicagomedicine.org | Y | - | - | - | - | - | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Health Services Research | - | Y | - | - | https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/find-a-physician/physician/austin-wesevich |
| Alegre | Maria-Luisa | malegre@uchicago.edu | - | Y | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Transplantation Immunology | - | Y | Y | Y | |
| Shen | Lin | linshen@uchicago.edu | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | TCR Signaling, Immune Tolerance, Autoimmunity | - | Y | Y | Y | |
| Kron | Steve | skron@uchicago.edu | - | Y | - | Y | Y | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cancer and Aging | Y | Y | - | Y | |
| Price | Trevor | pricet@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ecology/Conservation | - | Y | Y | Y | https://voices.uchicago.edu/trevorpricelab/ |
| Sotomayor | Marcos | sotomayor@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | - | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cell-Cell Adhesion, Mechanotransduction, Hearing, Structural Biology, Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Rational Engineering of Proteins | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Macleod | Kay | kmacleod@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Pancreatic Cancer; Lipid Metabolism in Liver Cancer | Y | Y | Y | Y | https://macleodlab.uchicago.edu/ |
| Greene | Geoffrey | ggreene@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Breast Cancer Biology, Treatment and Prevention, Estrogen Receptors, Nuclear Receptors, Steroid Hormone Action, Metastasis, Organoids, PDX models, Prostate Cancer, SERDS, SERMs | Y | Y | - | - | https://benmay.uchicago.edu/faculty/geoffrey-greene-phd |
| Rebay | Ilaria | irebay@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Development, Signaling, Cellular Mechanics | - | - | Y | - | |
| Chitneni | Satish | schitneni@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Chemistry, Radiolabeling, Cancer Cell Lines, and Animal Studies | - | - | Y | - | |
| Bettencourt | Luis | bettencourt@uchicago.edu | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Evolutionary Theory, Spatial Data Analysis for Development | Y | - | Y | - | https://luisbettencourt.org |
| Gerrick | Elias | egerrick@uchicago.edu | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Microbiome, Protists, Intestinal Health, Diet, Host-Microbe Interactions | Y | - | Y | Y | https://voices.uchicago.edu/gerricklab/ |
| Nobrega | Marcelo | nobrega@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Genetics of Human Diseases, Gene Regulation, Genomics of Environmental Perturbations on Gene Expression. | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Fei | Jingyi | jingyifei@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | RNA, Gene Regulation, Single-Molecule Biophysics, Imaging, Phase Separation | - | - | Y | - | https://feilab.uchicago.edu/ |
| Kim | David | David.Kim@bsd.uchicago.edu | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Health Policy; Cost-Effectiveness Analysis; Simulation Modeling; Low-Value Care | - | Y | Y | Y | https://biologicalsciences.uchicago.edu/faculty/david-daeho-kim |
| Sohn | James | jooyoung.sohn@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Medical Physics (Radiation therapy) | - | - | Y | - | https://www.sohnlab.uchicago.edu/ |
| Connellan | Liz | lconnellan@bsd.uchicago.edu | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Population Health, Precision Medicine, Cancer, Environmental Health | Y | Y | Y | - | https://ipph.uchicago.edu |
| Mitchell | Noah | npmitchell@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Morphogenesis, Biological Physics, Developmental Biology, Organ Formation, Microscopy, Physical Biology | Y | Y | Y | Y | https://mitchelllab.uchicago.edu/ |
| Bader | Kenneth | baderk@uchicago.edu | - | Y | - | Y | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Biomedical acoustics | Y | Y | Y | Y | baderlab.uchicago.edu |
| Gaines | Mimi | sara.gaines@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | Y | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Microbiome, Vascular Surgery, aorta, arteriovenous fistula | - | - | Y | - | |
| McLeod | Rima | rmcleod@bsd.uchicago.edu | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | toxoplasmosis | - | Y | Y | Y | toxoplasmosis.org |
| Saygin | Caner | caner.saygin@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | leukemia, clonal hematopoiesis, drug development | - | Y | Y | - | voices.uchicago.edu/sayginlab | |
| Zhao | Minglei | mlzhao@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Protein degradation; Vault; Structural biology; CryoEM | - | - | Y | - | https://zhaolab.uchicago.edu |
| Halpern | Howard | h-halpern@uchicago.edu or hhalpern@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | near absolute imaging molecular oxygen in preclinical animal subjects | - | Y | - | - | |
| LoSavio | Phillip | plosavio@uchicagomedicine.org | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Obstructive Sleep Apnea | - | - | Y | - | https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/conditions-services/sleep-surgery |
| Rahbani | Janane | janane.rahbani@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cancer metabolism, obesity, diabetes | Y | Y | Y | - | https://jananerahbanilab.com/ |
| Luca | Francesca | fluca@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Human Genetics and Genomics, Genotype x Environment Interactions | Y | Y | Y | Y | lucalab.org | |
| Hibino | Narutoshi | nhibino@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | Cardiovascular tissue enginering and 3D bioprinting | - | - | Y | - | hibinolab.com |
| Kee | Barbara | bkee@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | Y | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Immune cell development and function | - | Y | Y | Y | |
| Zhang | Zhuzhu | zhuzhuzhang@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Epigenetics, single-cell and functional genomics, neuroscience, bioinformatics | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Kao | Chien-Min | c-kao@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Positron emission tomography instrumentation and image reconstruction, molecular imaging | - | - | Y | Y | |
| Msall | Michael E. | mmsall@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | neurodevelopment/ child disability, measuring functioning | Y | Y | Y | Y | https://pediatrics.uchicago.edu › faculty › michael-e-msal... | |
| Zhai | R. Grace | rgzhai@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Drosophila (fruit fly) modeling of human neurological diseases | - | Y | Y | - | |
| Burrows | Kate | kburrows@uchicago.edu | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | environmental health, climate change, environmental epidemiology | - | Y | - | - | https://kburrows.com |
| Yang | Lixing | lixingyang@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cancer genomics | Y | Y | Y | - | |
| Cheng | Alice | agc@uchicago.edu | - | - | Y | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | microbiome, synthetic microbial communities, microbial metabolism, carbohydate biochemistry | - | Y | Y | Y | https://chenglab.bsd.uchicago.edu/ |
| Sharp | Will | wsharp@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | cardiac arrest, resuscitation, brain injury, mitochondria, ischemia/reperfusion injury | - | - | Y | - | |
| Satzer | David | david.satzer@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | Y | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | epilepsy, neurosurgery, neuromodulation | - | - | Y | - | |
| Fischer | Andrew | afischer3@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | Substance Use Disorders, Alcohol Use Disorder, Vaping/eCigarette Use | - | - | Y | - | https://addictions.uchicago.edu/ |
| Laiteerapong | Neda | nlaiteer@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | internal medicine, primary care, behavioral and mental health | Y | Y | - | - | https://voices.uchicago.edu/laiteeraponglab/ |
| Chong | Anita | achong@uchicago.edu | - | Y | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | Transplantation, immunology, pregnancy | Y | Y | Y | Y | https://voices.uchicago.edu/thechonglab/ |
| Garcia | Alfredo | ajgarcia3@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Opioid, Breathing, Sleep Apnea, Cognition | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Hansel | Christian | chansel@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cerebellum; plasticity; autism; neocortex | - | - | Y | - | www.hansellab-uchicago.com |
| Rogalski | Emily | emily.rogalski@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | Aging and dementia research dedicated to the discovery of factors that promote resilience, resistance, and increased healthspan through multidisciplinary research, community engagement, education, and the development of new evidence-based interventions. | - | Y | Y | - | https://haarc.center.uchicago.edu/ |
| Ruthenburg | Alex | aruthenburg@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Chromatin and Epigenetic regulation of transcription | - | Y | Y | - | www.ruthenlab.org |
| Veller | Carl | cveller@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Evolutionary theory, population genetics, speciation | Y | Y | - | Y | carlveller.com |
| Muralidhar | Pavitra | pmuralidhar@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Theoretical evolutionary biology; population genetics | - | - | - | Y | https://www.muralidharlab.org/home |
| Ciaccio | Christina | cciaccio@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | Y | - | - | - | - | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Food Allergy | - | - | Y | Y | |
| Greenberg | Jean | jgreenbe@uchicago.edu | - | - | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | plant-microbe interactions, plant signaling, microbial imaging | - | Y | Y | Y | https://biologicalsciences.uchicago.edu/faculty/jean-greenberg-phd |
| Park | Joon Seok | joonseokpark@uchicago.edu | - | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Basic Immunology / Cancer Immunity / Microbiome | Y | Y | Y | Y | parklab.uchicago.edu (in progress: voice.uchicago.edu/parklab) |
| Schmidt-Ott | Urs | uschmid@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | evolution and development of insect embryos insects | - | Y | Y | - | https://schmidtottlab.uchicago.edu/ |
| Giger | Maryellen | m-giger@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | Y | AI in Medical Imaging - diagnosis, therapy response, and evaluation/biases | - | Y | Y | Y | https://profiles.uchicago.edu/profiles/display/37081 |
| Madariaga | Lucia | mlmadariaga@bsd.uchicago.edu | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | frailty, thoracic surgery, artificial intelligence, exercise, implementation science | - | Y | Y | Y | |
| Claud | Erika | eclaud@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | Y | Y | - | - | Y | Y | - | - | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Premature infants, microbiome, neurodevelopment, biological development, biobank | Y | Y | - | - | https://setcenter.uchicago.edu |
| Bugno | Jason | jason.bugno@uchicagomedicine.org | - | Y | - | Y | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | Y | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cancer Immunology, Radiation Therapy & Pharmacology | - | Y | Y | Y | https://voices.uchicago.edu/weichselbaumlab/ |
| Lapping-Carr | Gabrielle | glappingcarr@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | - | Y | - | - | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Sickle Cell Disease, Acute Chest Syndrome, miRNA, Trauma, Health Equity | - | Y | Y | - | |
| Carley | Lauren | lcarley@uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | Y | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Evolutionary ecology, plant-insect interactions, ecological genetics | Y | Y | - | Y | https://carleylab.uchicago.edu/ |
| Rowell | Susan | susanrowell@bsd.uchicago.edu | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Traumatic Brain Injury | - | - | Y | - |