How We Train

The lab benefits from heterogeneous trainee backgrounds, and the training plan is built around bringing trainees up to speed in unfamiliar techniques during the first year. This page describes what the lab does, who has done well here, and how to assess whether the lab's projects match your scientific interests.

Backgrounds That Have Done Well

Trainees from biology, engineering, physics, applied math, and computational backgrounds have all done well in the lab. The lab actively supports converts from quantitative fields who are new to neuroscience, and the cross-modality training during the first year is designed to bring trainees up to speed in unfamiliar techniques.

Specific backgrounds that map well to the lab include:

• Biomedical engineering with strong cellular biology coursework

• Neuroscience with quantitative or computational training

• Physics or applied math, with interest in biological systems

• Cell biology or molecular biology, with interest in in vivo systems

• Electrical engineering with biology coursework

• Computer science with neuroscience or biology research experience

Trainees who enter with partial coverage of this skill set are the norm rather than the exception, and the first-year training plan is built around filling those gaps.

What Trainees Gain

Trainees develop a multi-modal in vivo skill set that spans chronic two-photon microscopy, electrophysiology, electrochemical methods (impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry), immunohistochemistry, and transgenic or AAV intervention strategies. Project pairing places trainees on questions that cross between cellular mechanism and translational device performance, which builds a portfolio readable by both neuroscience and neural engineering search committees. Recent graduates have moved into postdoctoral positions at Harvard and Boston Children's (Kevin Stieger, with Z. He), faculty-track trajectories, and industry roles at Blackrock Neurotech and Zoetis (Chris Hughes, James Eles). Trainees who want to apply for individual fellowships are supported through that process, with five active or awarded F31, NSF GRFP, and equivalent awards in the current lab.

Project Scope

The lab's projects pair tissue-level observation with in vivo functional readout, and we do not run projects where descriptive immunohistochemistry of foreign body response, terminal histology as a primary endpoint, or device fabrication without underlying tissue biology is the central scientific question. Trainees whose primary interest sits in those areas will likely find a better fit in the labs listed below, and the lab is happy to make introductions during the application process.

Adjacent Pitt Labs

Pitt has a deep neural engineering ecosystem, and the B.I.O.N.I.C. Lab partners closely with several adjacent programs. Prospective trainees whose interests fit better elsewhere should consider:

• Dr. Tracy Cui's lab, for trainees focused on electrode and device design and materials

• Drs. Jennifer Collinger and Robert Gaunt, for trainees focused on human BCI clinical research and rehabilitation engineering

• Dr. Alberto Vazquez, for trainees focused on neurovascular coupling and functional imaging in rodent preparations

The B.I.O.N.I.C. Lab is the right home for trainees whose questions live in the cellular and vascular biology that determines whether those devices and human BCIs ultimately succeed or fail.

Self-Assessment for Prospective Trainees

Before applying, prospective trainees may find the following self-assessment useful. These questions are diagnostic, not gatekeeping, and uncertainty on one or two is expected at the direct-admit stage.

•         Read 2 to 3 recent papers from the Recent Findings or Full Publication List pages. Were the basic biology findings interesting independent of the device context?

•         Read the Why BCIs Fail Substack series. Does the failure-mode framing match how you think about scientific problems?

•         Read the Forward and Reverse Translation page. Does the bidirectional structure match how you want to do science?

•         Identify 1 or 2 projects on the Full Project Descriptions page that you would want to work on, and articulate why your background prepares you for them.

Trainees who answer most of these affirmatively are likely to thrive in the lab. Those uncertain on one or two should still reach out, since the first-year cross-modality training and project pairing are designed for trainees who arrive with partial coverage. The application materials (one-page statement for postdocs, statement of purpose for graduate applicants) should make these answers visible to the PI.