The BioLAB Program, which is administered by the Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission, offers 12-month (July to June) research traineeships to students in Poland who are enrolled in an eligible Master’s, Ph.D., Pharmacy, and/or M.D. degree program in many areas of biomedical sciences, including life sciences, biophysics and medical fields of study.
BioLAB Program traineeships are completed at one of the four host institutions in the U.S.: University of Virginia, University of Chicago, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and UT Southwestern Medical Center. At these institutions, BioLAB participants will be designated as visiting graduate students or research trainees (depending on the institution) and will receive a stipend and health insurance. The number of traineeships in any given year is subject to the availability of funds with the host institutions.
For more information or to apply for the BioLAB Program, visit the Fulbright website.
How to Apply
Prospective candidates should follow the application process from the Fulbright website and file an application with the Polish-American Fulbright Commission in Warsaw. Applications for the 2024-25 program are due by midnight, CET, Feb. 1, 2024.
Among the qualifications required for consideration are (1) fluency in English, (2) high academic standing (GPA of 4.0 or above is recommended), and (3) prior experience in research (in Poland or/and abroad). Students are encouraged to attach publications (only peer-reviewed) on which they are co-authors.
The following documents are required: (1) Curriculum vitae (CV), (2) Transcript, (3) At least one letter of reference from an individual familiar with the candidate’s academic or/and research accomplishments, (4) Signed institutional consent form, and (5) A letter indicating candidate’s areas of research interests (with justification) and future career plans.
Previous research areas have included:
- Aging and Metabolism
- Autoimmunity and Immunobiology
- Bioinformatics
- Cancer Biology
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Cell Cycle
- Cytoskeleton dynamics
- Drug delivery
- Epigenetics
- Formation of membrane-less organelles
- Membrane biology and biophysics
- Molecular basis of disease
- Molecular Biophysics/Structural Biology
- Neurobiology
- Nuclear import-export
- Protein kinases and phosphatases
- Single particle tracking to monitor cell signaling
- Stem cell research
Participating U.S. Institutions and Coordinators
- Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Dr. Umesh S. Deshmukh
- University of Chicago, Dr. Anthony A. Kossiakoff
- University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Jose Rizo-Rey
- University of Virginia, Dr. Zygmunt Derewenda
History
The BioLAB Program started at the University of Virginia in 2001 under the leadership of Professor Zygmunt Derewenda. In 2006, the University of Chicago became the second host institution in the U.S., followed by the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in 2013 and University of Texas Southwestern in 2014. Since its inception, more than 200 students have participated in the program. Approximately 20% of the graduates of this program continued their studies at the Ph.D. level in the U.S., and another 20% were accepted to the top universities and research institutions in Europe, including Oxford, Cambridge, Max Planck and ETH. Overall, 90% of the students have continued their careers at Ph.D. level. The contributions of students who have participated in the program are documented by numerous papers, which they have co-authored, based on the research they conducted in the U.S. In 2016, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation became the major coordinating center for the program.
2023-24 Students
2022-23 Students
2021-22 Students
2020-21 Students
2019-20 Students
2018-19 Students
2017-18 Students
2016-17 Students
2015-16 Students
