Project Title: Development of cancer immunotherapy via engineered biomaterials and nanotechnologies

Project description: The Irvine Lab is looking for a motivated UROP to work under a senior postdoc on a collaborative team including multiple other UROPs. The central project revolves around engineering cells and biomaterials for novel cancer vaccines and immunotherapies.

This UROP will play a crucial role in the development, in vitro characterization, and in vivo testing of locally administered microparticle drug depots to modulate a candidate immunotherapy pathway in cancer and metabolism. Experimental duties include design, synthesis and validation of a small library of ligand and inhibitor particles, and basic mouse handling and assisting necropsies to evaluate different particle effects on cancer progression in mice; cellular analyses will be performed using microscopy and cytometry as described above. Secondarily, this UROP will support a larger team in the development and immunoassay of B cell function as cellular vaccines in vitro and in vivo, centered on using a microfluidics device developed in the Langer lab. This work will include aforementioned biology techniques as well as advanced mammalian cell culture and molecular biology/immunology work including Western blots, real time RT-PCR, and ELISA.

The ideal candidate would have the following skills & goals: committed and organized with previous research experience in biology/engineering, works well in a team, desires increased research independence and the opportunity to generate and explore their own ideas, and is interested in learning more about cancer, immunology, and/or materials science.

Prerequisites: Must be comfortable assisting with mouse procedures. Preference will be given to candidates with previous experience in a biology or engineering research lab, but previous experience is not a requirement.

Time commitment: Full-time during the summer; approximately 15-20 h per week and a minimum of 3 days per week in the lab during the fall semester. Continuation throughout the fall summer is expected provided that project interests and working relationships are compatible. Preference will be given to candidates who have more time available and show particular desire to develop research independence to learn and implement principles in experimental design and planning.

Contact: Please email CV and email/letter of interest directly to gszeto@mit.edu or gszeto@gmail.com.