Research Engineer Intern – Bioreactor & Fluidics Systems

Brain Organoid Life-Support Platform

HumanX Lab × Nguyen Lab — Dartmouth College

📍 Dartmouth Campus (On-site, or hybrid if the candidate ensures the required research condition)

⏱ 10–20 hrs/week | 🗓 Initial 3–6 months (extension & conversion possible)

🚀 Start: ASAP (rolling review)

Eligibility: MS or PhD students (ME, BME, ChemE, or closely related)

Who This Role Is For (Read This First)

Human brain organoids routinely fail within days due to poor fluidics, bubbles, leaks, and contamination. Our lab is building a reliable, long-term life-support system that can keep organoids alive and functional for weeks to months.

This role exists because that problem has not been solved well - and we need a hands-on engineer who can own it.

You will not be assisting someone else’s design. You will be the primary engineer responsible for the physical life-support system.

Project Context

HumanX Lab is building a system that interfaces living neural tissue (brain organoids) with electronics to record and stimulate neural activity. Signals of interest are in the microvolt range, recorded in wet, electrically noisy biological environments. The core challenge is signal integrity, not software abstraction.

Your Role (What you'll do)

You will design, build, test, and iterate the fluidic and mechanical infrastructure that sustains living neural tissue.

1. Fluidic System Design & Prototyping

• Design sterile perfusion paths (tubing, chambers, reservoirs);
• Select biocompatible materials (tubing, plastics, seals, adhesives);
• Design and implement bubble-mitigation strategies;
• Calculate and tune flow rates to minimize shear stress.

2. Pump & Flow Control

• Evaluate and integrate low-pulsatility pumps;
• Calibrate and validate stable flow over 72 hour runs;
• Design basic fail-safes (leaks, overflow, flow interruption).

3. Culture Chamber & Enclosure Design

• Design chambers compatible with MEA interfaces;
• Ensure incubator compatibility or design standalone heated enclosures;
• Create alignment fixtures for reproducible organoid placement.

4. Sterility & Contamination Control

• Define sterilization protocols (UV, autoclave, ethanol, plasma);
• Design closed-loop systems to reduce contamination risk;
• Select materials compatible with sterilization methods.

5. Testing, Failure Analysis & Iteration

• Perform leak, pressure, and long-duration stability testing;
• Identify failure modes and implement design improvements;
• Iterate designs based on experimental outcomes.

6. Documentation

• Produce CAD drawings, BOMs, and assembly instructions;
• Write SOPs for setup, operation, and maintenance;
• Document design decisions for future lab members.

Required Background

You must meet both criteria below:

1. Education

• Currently enrolled MS or PhD student in ME/BME/ChemE or a related field.

2. Hands-On Experience with at least TWO of the following:

• Microfluidics or lab-on-chip devices
• Organ-on-chip or cell culture systems
• Bioreactors or biological fluid handling
• Pump integration in wet-lab environments
• Proficiency in CAD (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, AutoCAD, etc.)
• Working understanding of laminar flow, shear stress, and fluid stability
• Comfortable working in or around wet labs

Strongly Preferred

• Prior experience designing systems for cell culture
• Knowledge of materials to avoid in biological systems
• Familiarity with sterility and contamination control
• Experience running multi-day validation tests
• Practical, anticipatory mindset (you think about bubbles before they appear)

What You’ll Get

• Competitive hourly pay (aligned with Thayer MS/PhD research standards);
• Authorship opportunities on publications & patents (performance-based);
• Deep, hands-on ownership of a publishable neural system;
• Direct mentorship from PI and co-PIs;
• Exposure to cutting-edge organoid neural engineering research;
• Potential pathway to: Extended research role/Full-time research engineer or PhD or entrepreneurial spin-out.

How to Apply

Email cihost@dartmouth.edu with:

1. CV / Resume (highlight hands-on electrophysiology work)
2. 1-page cover letter answering:

• What neural or bio-signal systems have you personally worked on?
• Describe one noise or artifact problem you debugged and how you solved it.
• Why are you interested in brain organoid research?
• Availability (start date hrs/week)

3.Optional but strongly encouraged: Signal traces; analysis code; circuit diagrams; technical reports.

Subject line: "ME/BME Intern - Fluidics - [Your Name]"