Mentor Areas
- Human brain development
- Stem cell biology
- Single cell omics and spatial transcriptomics
- Human iPSC-derived brain organoids engineering
- Neuropathology
- Neurodevelopmental disorders.
Description:
The Qian Lab is a new group launching in fall 2025 at the Perelman School of Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, within the Center for BRIDGE (Brain Research Initiative for Development, Genetics, and Engineering). We study how the human cerebral cortex develops and how it is disrupted in neurodevelopmental disorders such as cortical malformations and autism.
Why the human cortex?
The human cerebral cortex is the seat of higher cognition, language, and imagination. It is the crown jewel of the brain. Compared with evolutionarily older regions like the brainstem or hypothalamus, the cortex is young and highly advanced in humans, which makes it powerful but also vulnerable. Many neurodevelopmental disorders arise from disruptions in cortical development. Yet our understanding remains limited because the field has relied heavily on mouse models, which do not capture human-specific programs of cortical development.
Our approach.
Our lab is built around human-based systems so that we can study the human brain on its own terms. We pair spatial transcriptomics on human brain tissue with human iPSC-derived brain organoids, and we benchmark one against the other to keep models grounded in human biology.
We welcome undergraduate researchers!
Check out this introduction video to learn more.
Undergraduates will join a small, energetic team, receive hands-on training and have extensive direct interaction by the PI, Dr. Xuyu Qian. Example projects include:
- Building a spatially resolved developmental atlas of the human cortex.
- Engineering next-generation organoids that mimic specific cortical areas.
- Modeling neurodevelopmental diseases in genetically-engineered organoids to understand pathogenesis.
- Analyzing human disease tissue with spatial transcriptomics to reveal underlying pathology.
Examples of what you may do
Wet lab
- Prepare buffers and media, aliquot reagents
- Assist with iPSC and organoid culture
- Tissue and organoid sectioning
Imaging on fluorescent and bright-field microscopes
Computational analysis
- Immunostaining, H&E staining, spatial transcriptomics sample preparation
- Run established pipeline in R or Python for bioinformatics analysis of spatial omics and single-cell omics data.
- Explore new ways for data analysis.
- Explore integration of AI tools in organoid characterizations.
Time, location, start window
- 6 to 12 hours per week at CHOP Research Institute within Penn Medical campus; computational roles can be hybrid
- Begin Spring 2026
Training and mentorship
- High-contact mentorship with the PI. Because we are a small new lab, you will work closely with Dr. Qian through regular 1:1 meetings, bench-side training, and project design discussions.
- Opportunities to present lab meetings
- Opportunities to contribute to publications.
Preferred Qualifications
• Commitment, reliability, and professionalism
• Passion in human brain development and disease
• Specific curriculum not required.
Wet lab
Careful hands at the bench, patience with repetitive tasks that require precision, good record keeping skills.
Dry lab
• Python or R, basic statistics, experience with Scanpy, Seurat is a plus
Project Website
Learn more about the researcher and/or the project here. Website of The Qian Lab
Details:
Preferred Student Year
First-year, Second-Year
Academic Term
Spring, Summer
I prefer to have students start during the above term(s).Volunteer
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to volunteers.Paid
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to paying students they engage in their research, regardless of their work-study eligibility.Work Study
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to hiring work-study-eligible students.