October 9, 2025
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Scholarship: Fully-funded
Degree: Bachelor/Master/Ph.D
Nationality: International Students
Location: USA
Application deadlines: Open

Scholarship Description:

The Wan Lab, led by Dr. Zhengpeng Wan at Michigan Technological University, is recruiting 2-3 fully funded PhD students for the Spring and Fall 2026 terms.

Dr. Zhengpeng Wan graduated from China Agricultural University (undergraduate) and Tsinghua University (PhD). He completed postdoctoral research at MIT, where he served as a Research Scientist II. Dr. Wan has extensive research experience in vascularized tissue engineering, microfluidic systems, and tumor immune microenvironment modeling, with publications in top journals like Advanced Functional Materials, Advanced Healthcare Materials, Nature Biomedical Engineering, and more.

Located in Houghton, Michigan, Michigan Tech is a research-intensive institution known for engineering and applied sciences (Carnegie R1 classification). The university offers excellent research facilities and a collaborative interdisciplinary environment, with close faculty-student interactions. The campus is near natural resources, and research funding (RA/TA) provides stable support for PhD students. The lab is located in the newly constructed H-STEM Health Research Center, which offers multi-platform support.

Available Subjects:

  • The lab focuses on developing vascularized microphysiological systems and applying them to research in tumor immunotherapy, cancer metastasis, multi-organ interactions, organoid modeling, neurodegenerative diseases, immune inflammation, and infectious diseases. We employ an interdisciplinary approach that combines mechanical engineering, cell biology, and immunology to advance disease modeling and therapeutic strategy development.

Eligibility criteria:

We seek candidates with a strong passion for research, initiative, and self-motivation. Applicants should be diligent, responsible, and capable of thoughtful collaboration and communication. Good English communication and writing skills are essential. We welcome applicants from backgrounds in bioengineering, biomedical engineering, biology, mechanical engineering, and related fields.

  • Preferred (but not mandatory) skills include:
  • Cell culture
  • Microfluidic design and fabrication
  • Cancer and immunology experiments
  • Microscopy and image analysis
  • Programming/data analysis
  • Bioinformatics

Application Procedure:

Please send the following materials via email:

Brief Research Statement (approximately one page) or a summary of research experience
Email Subject: PhD Application – Wan Lab – [Your Name]
Send to: [email protected]
Note: Applicants must also submit a formal application through the Michigan Tech Graduate School system.

CV (including contact information and the contact details of two references)

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