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Current Available Positions

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UPDATED: March 5, 2025

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Graduate: MS and PhD applications for a start date of Fall 2025 are closed. Students who are accepted at UW in ChemE, BioE, or MolES PhD programs will have the opportunity to meet with Prof. Nance and Nance lab members, and discuss specific project details in September-November 2025. Rotations for BioE or MolE students are not available until Winter 2025 and are discussed on a case by case basis. We will be recruiting 1-2 PhD students for the 2025-2026 academic year. Only students admitted into a PhD program at UW will be considered.

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If you are an MSTP (MD/PhD) student and interested in the lab, please email Dr. Nance (eanance@uw.edu) directly.

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Postdoctoral: We are seeking postdocs who are interested in developing technologies for children with acquired and genetic brain disease. We currently have postdoc positions available through the Invent @ Seattle Children's program. Please review the eligibility criteria and the requirements for the application process: https://www.seattlechildrens.org/research/research-institute/careers/invent-at-seattle-childrens/ Submit your application through Invent@Seattle Children's application process to be considered. 

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Undergraduates:  We do not have positions available at this time and will not be recruiting for 2025.

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High School students: We are not running TEXTILE in the summer of 2025 and do not have any available positions for high school student volunteers or interns for 2025.

Joining Our Team

We look for hard-working, independent, and creative individuals who are passionate about finding ways to better our understanding of, and our technology for, treating complex diseases, specifically those in the brain.


We work as a close-knit team to address the challenging needs of treating neurological diseases. Our work includes individuals from diverse backgrounds and expertise, including in chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, materials science, biochemistry, molecular and cell biology, pediatrics, neurology, infectious disease, physiology and radiology. We collaborate extensively with the clinicians in these medical fields. Individuals who join our lab must be dedicated to continual learning, and to skill development in technical expertise and strong communication.

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Postdoctoral Fellows and Technicians

For postdoctoral applicants, we are looking for dedicated individuals who have an interest in developing therapeutics for children, with backgrounds in non-cancer in vivo studies, and individuals who have a background in nanotechnology or biomaterials synthesis/formulation and applications.

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We currently have postdoc positions available through the Invent @ Seattle Children's program. Please review the eligibility criteria and the requirements for the application process: https://www.seattlechildrens.org/research/research-institute/careers/invent-at-seattle-childrens/ Submit your application through Invent@Seattle Children's application process to be considered., and please mention PI Elizabeth Nance as a mentor you are interested in.

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Doctoral and Master's Candidates

If you are interested in pursuing a Ph.D. or thesis M.S. at the University of Washington, please review our website to become familiar with our mission, prior publications, and current research. We accept graduate students from those individuals who have been accepted to chemical engineering, MolES, bioengineering, or one of the health sciences programs at UW.

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If you apply, please make sure you describe in your application how your past academic, industry and/or research experiences fit with our lab’s mission and your future career goals. Please e-mail Prof. Nance to let her know you have applied, which department you applied to, and highlight your primary research interests.

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Undergraduate Researchers

You do not need prior research experience or experience in our labs research areas of interest to join the Nance lab. Participating in research can give you an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills you are learning in the classroom to important clinical challenges. Research is challenging ­by definition; most of what you will be doing has never been done before. As such, we are looking for students who are self-­starters, independent, and willing to explore uncharted territory, and who are willing to embrace failing (in a safe space!). Research opportunities are available on a volunteer or credit basis. Prof. Nance provides extensive support to students to secure research fellowships and scholarships. Please see our Personnel and Lab Alumni pages to get a sense of what scholarships and fellowships our undergraduate research members have received in past years.

 

Our general expectations for undergraduate researchers include:

  • Dedicating a minimum of three quarters (1 academic year) to work in the lab. During the academic year, classes are your top priority. These are challenging projects and three quarters will give you the time to dive in and make significant contributions to research. We prefer at least one summer of commitment if that is an option for you.

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  • No participation in undergraduate research in another lab.

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  • During the academic quarters, spending 8-­10 hours per week (on average) working on research is critical. With bio-focused experimental research, experiments take time, although they can be nicely organized into discreet time blocks. We know that classes, work, and other extracurricular activities keep your schedule busy. Ask yourself if you have time to responsibly dedicate to pursuing research.

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  • Participating in weekly lab meetings (when your class schedule allows) and monthly working group meetings with your subgroup. You should come prepared to the working group meetings with slides or other handouts to share your progress, discuss challenges, and help yourself and your peers with their research.

 

  • Participate in a yearly individualized development meeting with Prof. Nance and your graduate student mentor.

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  • Keeping clear documentation and an electronic or hard copy lab notebook, depending on your research area. Others will likely be building upon and learning from your work in the future. Thus it is important that everyone keeps clear notes (including comments in any computer code) so that you can easily share what you have done.

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  • Defining clear goals and outcomes. We aim for everyone to produce a final report, abstract, or other publication based upon their project. We will work with you to help define these goals for your specific project and career goals!

Get in Touch
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The Nance Lab

Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Washington
Box 351750
3781 Okanogan Lane NE 
Seattle, WA, 98195-1750

nancelabuw@gmail.com

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