We are a multidisciplinary team with diverse backgrounds, but there is one common theme among all of us and that is passion for innovation and discovery. Competitive postdoctoral and PhD applicants are always encouraged to get in touch if interested in our mission and technologies. Reliable and motivated undergraduate students are equally important and welcome to reach out. We will consider candidates despite the UBC’s application deadlines passing. If a match to the lab and indicated by Dr. Shahriari, applications will be accepted passed the application deadlines.
Our postdoctoral scholars bring technologies/expertise new to the lab and are eager to learn skills that are new to them. Please state what these skills are in your email to Dr. Shahriari if inquiring for a postdoctoral position. One current opening for a postdoctoral scholar, as of October 2023, is for a background in neuroscience.
What you can gain by joining
Scientific learning
The BioAugmentative Interfaces Laboratory is multidisciplinary with a variety of learning opportunities. Our young lab is energetic, eager to define new scientific paths, and perfectly positioned in a center which offers unparalleled resources for our scientific mission.
As long as you enjoy and appreciate our goals and lab philosophy, there is much for you to learn. We will always seek to introduce and also to adapt new technologies. Currently some of our research and lab techniques include but are not limited to the following:
Materials science and engineering techniques such as working with a range of materials and chemicals, materials characterization and instrumentations, device design and technology development.
Techniques in neuroscience and physiology for example optogenetics, analyzing electrophysiological recording, tissue sectioning, immunohistochemistry, tissue clearing, microscopy, the privilege of primary neural isolation and animal surgeries when relevant, and working with and learning from clinicians and surgeons.
Electronic device design is inherent to most of what we do. If your background and/or interest allows, there are many opportunities to work on embedded electronics, circuit design, PCB design and device assembly.
Additional career growth in learning new softwares, bolstering your data analysis techniques and manuscript figure preparation are provided. All members are encouraged to learn and utilize artificial intelligence whenever it is efficient and relevant to do so particularly for developing our feedback-based or on demand controlled devices as well as data analysis. All the team members will receive rigorous mentorship to improve their oral presentation and very importantly writing skills for manuscripts and grants.
Most importantly, the BioAugmentative Interfaces Laboratory is a place to constantly grow into a more creative thinker and innovator.
Mentorship opportunities and career growth
Mentoring and training is a privilege, a great responsibility and, in our strongest opinion, the most important and joyful role of being a PI. While achieving scientific discoveries and improving human health will remain essential drives in the lab, the happiness and success of each and all of the members will always remain our priority and our most important focus and mission.
Every person in the lab is equally important and deserving of his or her position. The job of the PI is to stimulate and guide you to ask and explore interesting and important questions and projects, provide funding so you can explore your ideas, while always keeping in mind that the most important and dearest parts of each project in the lab are the team members who went through the experience. It is also inherent to your education and training experience to mentor others. The collaborative culture of the lab naturally provides abundant mentorship opportunities for each member to bolster their own mentorship capabilities and become stronger leaders in the future. Team members are always welcome to seek advice and resources as often as necessary to grow as a mentor.
Contact Dr. Dena Shahriari
Assistant Professor
Department of Orthopaedics
School of Biomedical Engineering
Principal Investigator, ICORD
dena.shahriari@ubc.ca