PI/Faculty Mentor: Zizhen Kang
Lab Name: Kang Lab
Website: https://medicine.uiowa.edu/pathology/profile/zizhen-kang 

Research Topic: Immunology research on neuroinflammation and intestinal inflammation.

Project details
The Kang lab, located in Medical Laboratories (ML), has two major research interests: My laboratory has two major research interests: Neuroimmunology and Mucosal Immunology. In Neuroimmunology, we study the regional immunity/inflammation in central nervous system, either in animal model of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) which is an autoimmune demyelinating disease, or in animal model of Parkinson’s disease which is a neurodegenerative disease. The aim is to understand the role of neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of the two diseases. In Mucosal Immunology, we focus on the role of LRRK2-mediated innate immunity, such as inflammasome activation, in host defense and intestinal inflammation.

Your training/learning experience in Kang lab will include (but not limited to) fundamental cellular and molecular technology in Immunology; Animal model-based in vivo research in autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases; Scientific thinking and lab management skills/teamwork. The experience in my lab will prepare you to be an independent/competitive scientist or for higher level of education such as Master or PhD programs.

Qualifications
Preference will be given to applicants who are motivated to pursue a career in health science or biomedicine. Applicants must be sophomores or higher.

Time Commitment
Students must be available for 10 plus hours per week. Applicants planning to participate in research during the summer or winter breaks are encouraged.

Compensation
Volunteer (Optional registration for URES:3991 or URES:3992 0-credit transcript recognition), Academic Credit (1-4 Semester Hours)

Start Date
Immediate

Timeline
Ongoing, potential to be a continuous position

How to apply
If interested, please email: Zizhen Kang (zizhen-kang@uiowa.edu) with your resume/CV.