Postdoctoral Fellows Program
QSI RENU's Postdoctoral Fellowship of Excellence in Translational Regenerative Engineering is a highly competitive award designed to educate the next generation of scientists that will advance academic research technologies into patient-facing products. Postdoctoral Fellows will engage in transdisciplinary regenerative engineering research and will work primarily at the QSI RENU laboratories in the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center on Northwestern’s downtown Chicago medical campus.
Application Deadline: October 31, 2025
Award Amount: $75,000 stipend over 12 months, plus benefits, renewable for a second year.
Requirements: Candidates must have completed their PhD within the past two years in a field relevant to regenerative engineering, such as biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, materials science, bioengineering, or a related field. Applicants should not have completed a previous postdoctoral experience. Candidates must identify at least two QSI RENU faculty, one from the school of engineering and one from the school of medicine, to serve in a co-advisory role. The proposed work should fit into one of QSI RENU’s six research areas related to regenerative engineering.
Apply Here
Specific Opportunities
Candidates may identify their preferred co-advisors and propose their own regenerative engineering research projects using the application form. They may also apply to a specific opportunity listed below, prepared by QSI RENU faculty teams.
Synthetic Melanin-Based Technologies for Wound Repair
Faculty Co-Advisors: Nathan C. Gianneschi (McCormick Engineering) and Kurt Lu (Feinberg Medicine)
We are seeking a motivated postdoctoral fellow to join our multidisciplinary research program focused on advancing wound repair through biomimetic therapeutics. This position emphasizes the development and translation of synthetic melanin-based technologies for wound healing and tissue regeneration.
Building on recent discoveries that highlight the therapeutic potential of synthetic melanin materials in accelerating wound healing and modulating immune responses, this project requires expertise across fields including chemistry, materials science and engineering, cell biology, and immunology. The postdoctoral fellow will contribute to basic research studies and evaluate preclinical efficacy in models of skin repair towards clinical translation. Further, we anticipate work to include the development of GMP grade therapeutics and their application in clinical studies.
Candidates should hold an M.D., a Ph.D., both, or an equivalent degree in one of the mentioned areas or a related field. Strong communication skills and the ability to thrive in a collaborative, cross-functional environment are essential. This fellowship offers the opportunity to advance a novel therapeutic platform with significant implications for regenerative medicine, combining biomaterials innovation with clinically meaningful applications in skin repair.