Isotropic cardiac myocyte monolayer stained for actin (red), beta-catenin (white), and nuclear DNA (blue). Image by Megan McCain, Parker lab.

Kartik Balachandran has been awarded the Postdoctoral Fellow Best Abstract Award by the Association of Scientists of Indian Origin Special Interest Group of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) at the SOT Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA. This competitive award was based on a submitted abstract and a cover letter outlining the significance of his research. The award includes a plaque and monetary award of $500. Congratulations, Kartik!!

Josh Goss is one of the winners of the first Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Dean’s Excellence Award. Josh is the senior instrumentation engineer and staff scientists in the Disease Biophysics Group, designing and prototyping all of our experimental systems from microfluidic systems for organs on chips to blast bioreactors for brain injury research. Congratulations, Josh!! Thanks for all of your hard work!!

Micropatterned mouse ventricular muscle cells assembled into an anisotropic tissue showing nuclei (pink) and organized sarcomeres (orange). This organization recapitulates features of the native architecture of cardiac tissue. Image by Anna Grosberg, Parker lab.

All of these positions require a doctoral degree in an appropriate field and a demonstrated publication record. Applications in the form of a single PDF file containing a cover letter, resume, and up to three examples of first author papers should be forwarded to Prof Parker (kkparker@seas.harvard.edu). A list of references should be submitted with the resume with contact information.

Congratulations to Dr. Hyungsuk Lee who has accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Yonsei University in Korea. Congratulations Hyungsuk!!

Micropatterned ventricular muscle cells from a mouse illustrated various stages of cell spreading on a soft hydrogel that mimics the microenvironment of cardiac tissue. The phases of the moon inspired the design. Image by Yvonne Aratyn and Sean Sheehy, Parker lab.

Congratulations to Anna Grosberg, Pat Alford, Megan McCain, and Kit Parker for an outstanding image from their recent publication entitled “Ensembles of engineered cardiac tissues for physiological and pharmacological study: Heart on a chip” in Lab Chip, 2011, 11(24), 4165 – 4173. The image was selected as the journal cover page. Great job all!

Congratulations to Pat Alford, Peyton Nesmith, Johannes Seywerd, Anya Grosberg, and Kit Parker for an outstanding image from their recent publication entitled “Vascular smooth muscle contractility depends on cell shape” in Integrative Biology, 2011, 3(11), 1063-1070. The image was selected as the journal cover page. Great job all!

1. Neuroscience/neuroengineering: We are building small brain pieces for drug discovery and safety pharmacology, as well as to test our own theories about information processing in the brain. Our primary interest is building a 1 mm^3 amygdala.

2. Marine biomechanics: We are interested in uncovering the design laws, conserved across species, of muscular pumps. This includes marine organisms such as cephalopods and jellyfish. Correlating muscular architecture to hydrodynamic performance is the primary objective of these studies.

All of these positions require a doctoral degree in an appropriate field and a demonstrated publication record in the field. Applications in the form of a single PDF file containing a cover letter, resume, and up to three examples of first author papers should be forwarded to Prof Parker (kkparker@seas.harvard.edu). A list of references should be submitted with the resume with contact information. Please state “Postdoctoral Applicant – X” in the subject line, where X is either neuroscience/neuroengineering or marine biomechanics as appropriate.

A. All the applicants have good grades, but at SEAS you probably need to have a GPA >3.5 to be competitive

B. Successful applicants usually have 2+ years of research experience and their name on an abstract or paper. For applicants with industrial experience, the applications are looked at a bit differently

C. Generally, the typical BME curriculum is not adequate preparation for graduate studies in engineering at Harvard. Extensive coursework in mathematics, mechanics (fluid and solid), and control theory is looked upon favorably.

D. Your application to Harvard should state specifically which laboratories you are interested in working in, listed by name of the PI. Its the only way to make sure your application is reviewed by a PI. Listing by subject area doesn’t really help us sort thru all the applications we get.

I hope this helps and good luck in your applications!

Prof Parker

Congratulations to Dr. Anna Grosberg who has accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. Anna will start there in April 2012. Congratulations Anna!!

Congratulations to Pat Alford who has accepted a tenure-track faculty position in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. Pat departed the DBG for Minnesota in December 2011 to start his laboratory and teach. Congratulations Professor Alford!