Opportunities

Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows

The Luker lab has included trainees from a wide variety of programs including:

  • Immunology

  • Cancer Biology/cell biology/biochemistry

  • Biomedical engineering

  • Chemical engineering

  • Optical engineering

  • Medicine

  • Comparative medicine/veterinary science

We offer a multidisciplinary training environment that emphasizes collaboration and teamwork.

Direct inquiries to Gary Luker at gluker@umich.edu.

Undergraduate Students


Undergraduate Research Assistant position available for breast cancer research

We (The Luker Lab - https://lukerlab.rad.med.umich.edu/) are looking for a highly motivated, team-oriented student to join our research team as early as March 2021. We study molecular mechanisms of cancer cell migration and metastasis using a multidisciplinary approach integrating tissue engineering, cancer biology, and molecular imaging in cell-based, patient-derived, and mouse model systems.

We are primarily seeking students who will assist with construction and testing of/in cell-based and mouse models of breast cancer. Duties include cell culture, cell assay seeding, cell and tissue staining, and assisting with mouse colony management, animal imaging, and animal surgeries. We value collaborative thought and students will train and work closely with a diverse and interactive team of undergraduate and PhD students, post-docs, and faculty members. The first 3 months of training will begin with an online, volunteer arrangement, with hourly pay and in-person work after successful completion of the training phase. Approximate time commitment 15-30 hrs per week in summer, and 15 hrs per week during the academic year.

Desired Qualifications

- Prior research experience

- Willingness to perform mouse work (mouse colony management, animal imaging, and animal surgeries)

- Proficiency in MATLAB and R

- Ability to thrive in a team environment

Our ideal team reflects the communities we serve, and we strongly encourage women and members of groups that are underrepresented in the research community to apply.

We will prioritize students who are planning on a gap year during the 2021-2022 or 2022-2023 calendar year, but all interested students are encouraged to apply through the linked form: https://forms.gle/LMZ15YUwvQyTRKqa7

The Luker lab is an active, multidisciplinary, collaborative environment committed to scientific excellence.

We strive to provide an excellent training environment for students and fellows at all levels.

Our lab was featured in a short video highlighting our excellent STEM mentoring in 2016 by Detroit Public Television on PBS