Join Us

Current openings

We are constantly looking for motivated PhD students and postdocs to join our team! Both home and international candidates are welcome. Learn more about what we can offer here!

Our lab is currently recruiting 1-2 fully-funded Biomedical Engineering PhD students to start in Fall 2025. Interested candidates should apply to the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering by Tuesday, December 10th, 2024 for the Fall 2025 admissions cycle and list Dr. Papadopoulou as one of their faculty advisors of interest. Instructions can be found here: https://bme.unc.edu/graduate/doctor-of-philosophy/. Candidates interested in image processing and/or deep learning applied to biomedical ultrasound imaging are especially encouraged to apply.

Our lab is currently recruiting a postdoctoral research associate with experience in programmable ultrasound imaging (Verasonics) for human performance/ austere environments imaging. Interested candidates are encouraged to email Dr. Papadopoulou with their CV including a complete list of publications and contact details for 2 references.

Our lab is currently recruiting 1 undergraduate research assistant to work on prototyping/instrumentation development as part of a larger team conducting human participant research. Candidates with experience in 3D printing, machine shop training and/or arduino development are especially encouraged to apply. Prior human participant research is not necessary but there will be an optional opportunity to get trained and contribute to those experiments if desired. Ideal candidates will be a junior (or sophomore) with the capacity to contribute an average of 6h/week starting asap and in the Spring 2025 semester, and with an interest in continuing during the summer (20-40 hrs/week agreed upon in advance). This is a paid research assistant position.

We welcome unsolicited/other enquiries from candidates interested in short-term exchanges or opportunities to develop projects of mutual interest to the laboratory. Please email Dr. Papadopoulou (papadopoulou@unc.edu).

Contact Us

More about the PhD program

Our lab accepts Biomedical Engineering PhD students. All PhD students receive fully-funded scholarships and both home and international students are welcome. Please note that PhD students start in the Fall (e.g. end of August 2025) but applications are due the previous year (e.g. this year the application deadline is 10 December 2024) and have to be submitted directly to the department.

There are no exceptions to the application deadlines. Candidates who meet the minimum requirements may then be interviewed by individual labs. If you are applying to the PhD program and are interested specifically in our laboratory, please list Dr. Papadopoulou as a possible advisor of interest in your application. The Biomedical Engineering department is joint between the University of North Carolina (UNC) and North Carolina State University (NCSU). Our lab is located on the UNC campus but you can submit your PhD application through either portal (UNC or NCSU). If you are accepted and offered a position in our lab, you will be working primarily at UNC (classes can be taken on both campuses, as well as at Duke University as part of the PhD program).

The PhD program in the USA includes taught classes and exams in the first two years so you do not need to already have a master’s degree to apply. Candidates may be eligible to transfer class credit if they have already completed graduate level coursework in the past. More information about the program including the application process can be found here: https://bme.unc.edu/graduate/doctor-of-philosophy/. Enquiries about the application process, PhD degree requirements and/or eligibility should be directed to the Director of Graduate Studies Dr. Matt Fisher (mbfisher@ncsu.edu) or to the Graduate Program Coordinator Vilma Berg (vberg@email.unc.edu). Enquiries related to our laboratory’s research should be directed to Dr. Papadopoulou (papadopoulou@unc.edu).

Information for undergraduates

ENHANCE welcomes current UNC and NCSU undergraduates. Undergraduates can get involved through research for credit courses, research scholarships and/or as paid research assistants. We particularly welcome biomedical engineering, computer science, math, physics and other STEM majors. Please refer to the current openings listed above and note that we welcome additional enquiries to develop other projects of mutual interest (likely as a research for credit course to start).

You do not need prior research experience to apply to join our lab as an undergraduate researcher. You do need to review the information on our website and be able to articulate why you think this could be of interest to you. 

Interested students are encouraged to review the following resources before emailing us:

International candidates

ENHANCE welcomes enquiries from qualified international candidates for any eligible positions. The University of North Carolina’s International Student and Scholars Services (ISSS) office is available to assist with obtaining visas and other practical matters once students/researchers have accepted an offer to join the lab (employment and student status are always contingent upon receipt of the appropriate paperwork). ISSS has information for international undergraduate and graduate students as well as a list of resources. 

Learn more about what to expect from the area here:

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