Become an IGB Fellow

The Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers a number of fellowships for truly exceptional young scholars who have completed their PhD within the last several years, and are looking for a stimulating and supportive interdisciplinary environment to carry out independent and collaborative research in the field of genomic biology. IGB Fellows will typically spend two to three years conducting research in one of several research themes in the institute, and ideally this research will also overlap with two or more of these thematic areas.

We are not currently accepting applications for IGB Fellows.

View previous IGB Fellows here.

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IGB FELLOWS

Abbas Bukhari

Abbas Bukhari completed his BS in Bioinformatics from the COMSATS University of Pakistan in 2009 and then came to the University of Illinois in 2010. He completed both Masters and Ph.D. degrees in bioinformatics in 2012 and 2018, respectively. After finishing his doctorate, he did his first postdoc with his Ph.D. advisor Prof. Alison Bell. He joined the IGB Gene Networks in Neural & Developmental Plasticity (GNDP) theme in February 2020.

Abbas is a computational biologist interested in the dynamic genome that responds to an animal's social environment and its evolution. He uses systems biology, and comparative genomics approaches to study the relationships between genes and behavior using both within-species (comparing different behaviors) and across species (comparing the same behavior in other species) comparisons. His notable studies include understanding the neurogenomic basis of aggressive and affiliative social interactions in male sticklebacks. As an IGB fellow, he is expanding on the cross-species aspects. He is interested in comparing the dynamic neuro-genome that responds to animals' social environment across distant species. He is currently working on comparing neurogenomic response to parental care in species spanning both vertebrates and invertebrates groups such as mammals (mouse, prairie voles), birds (rock doves), reptiles (poison frogs), fishes (sticklebacks), and insects (burying beetles and honey bees). This analysis can help understand the rules of natural selection and adaptation in the species that converge on the related behavioral traits due to similar ecological and social challenges.
Chia-Wen Chang

Chia-Wen Chang received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech) in Taiwan. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Ohio State University (OSU). His graduate research focused on the in vitro modeling of angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis using biomedical microfluidic technology. Specifically, he studied the ECM biophysical properties and fluid forces mediated vascular functions on the microvessel analogues. After completing his PhD studies, he joined IGB in the Regenerative Biology and Tissue Engineering (RBTE) theme in October 2021.

As an IGB fellow, Chia-Wen works on multidisciplinary research at the interface of microtechnology, biomaterials science and cell biology to develop microphysiological systems to address important questions in cell-matrix interactions, tissue developments and disease progressions. During his research at IGB, he works collaboratively with researchers in the RBTE theme under the leadership of Professor Brendan Harley to develop innovative biomedical microdevices and engineered biomaterials. His specific research interests include recapitulating the biophysical and biochemical dynamics of tissue microenvironments for disease modeling and tissue regeneration applications in the fields of vascular mechanobiology, immunoengineering and cancer.
Shelby Lawson

Shelby Lawson received her B.S. degrees in Biology and Psychology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 2014, after which she worked as a lab manager and research technician at University of Maryland College Park studying bird song perception. In 2017, she came to University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and completed her Ph.D. degree in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior under Prof. Mark Hauber in 2022. Shelby’s research focused on yellow warbler referential alarm calls known as “seet” calls that are made to warn of nearby brown-headed cowbirds, birds that lay eggs in other birds nests. Her dissertation explored the sensory ecology and behavior regarding the production of this call by yellow warblers in central Illinois.

Shelby became an IGB Fellow as part of the IGB Communications Team in August 2022. Currently, Shelby writes about new and interesting research happening at the university and helps shine a spotlight on the researchers that make it happen.
Diana Ranoa

Diana received her M.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of the Philippines–Diliman. In 2006, she moved to the United States to pursue her Ph.D. in Microbiology at the University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign under the direction of Dr. Richard I. Tapping (Dept. of Microbiology). Her graduate studies focused on understanding the mechanisms of microbial sensing and the dynamics of interaction among members of the Toll-like receptor 2 subfamily of innate immune receptors. In 2014, she joined Dr. Ralph R. Weichselbaum’s lab at the University of Chicago Dept. of Radiation and Cellular Oncology to investigate the RNA- and DNA-mediated tumor cell intrinsic response to ionizing radiation, and to define the molecular mechanisms that promote tumor proliferation and metastasis.

Diana joined Dr. Paul Hergenrother’s lab as an ACPP Cancer Center Illinois/IGB Fellow in November 2019. She will be investigating the ability of the synthetic drug PAC-1, in combination with immune checkpoint therapy, to enhance anti-tumor responses and improve immunologic memory for tumor cell recognition in animal models.
Lifeng Zhou

Lifeng received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Ohio State University in 2017. Before he came to the United States, he received M.S./B.S. degrees of Mechanical Engineering and Automation from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications in Beijing, China. His Ph.D. study focused on the design, modeling, and analysis of nanomachines built by using DNA molecules. He is one of the pioneers that can design and build nanomachines by using mechanical engineering design methodologies and DNA/RNA molecules. After graduation, he first did his postdoc training at the RNA Institute of the State University of New York at Albany, focusing on disease-related and rare RNA molecules detection and analysis by using DNA nanomachines, including miRNAs, viral RNAs and RNA modifications.

In July 2021, Lifeng became an IGB Fellow in the Center for Genomic Diagnostics (CGD) Theme under the supervision of Prof. Brian T. Cunningham who is the director of CGD. Currently, Lifeng is developing state-of-the-art biosensing platforms and assays by using DNA-based nanomachines and nanophotonics.

IGB FELLOWS

Abbas Bukhari

Chia-Wen Chang

Shelby Lawson

Diana Ranoa

Lifeng Zhou

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