Open Positions
Open Positions

CALICO Lab welcomes curious, dedicated researchers at every stage: undergraduate, MSc and PhD students, and postdoctoral researchers. We carry out translational and interdisciplinary research where information and communication technology meets biology and nanotechnology.

Now open: the Koç University Postdoctoral Fellowship (deadline 15 November 2026) and CoCirculation3 (deadline 3 November 2026). We are looking for postdoctoral researchers to work with us on artificial cells, chemical and physical computing, and adaptive biosensors. Details below

What we work on

  • Molecular receivers: biosensors, including graphene-based devices, that detect molecular messages in noisy and changing environments.
  • Molecular transmitters: microfluidic chips that encode information in molecular pulses, droplets and magnetic droplets.
  • Theory: modulation and detection schemes, channel sensing and modelling, and the fundamental limits of communicating with molecules.
  • Artificial cells: cell-sized lipid vesicles, built from scratch, that release molecular messages on command and communicate with living cells.
  • Molecular computing: computing with molecules, and with collectives of living and artificial cells.
  • The Internet of Bio-Nano Things: networks that connect nanoscale devices inside the body to the internet.

What you will learn
Our projects combine theory and experiment. Depending on your project, you will build skills in information and communication theory, signal processing and machine learning, bottom-up synthetic biology, microfluidics, and micro/nanofabrication, with access to class-100 cleanroom facilities.

Who we are looking for

  • Curiosity, and the drive to go deep into a hard problem
  • Solid fundamentals in your own field, and the willingness to learn across disciplines
  • Dedication and a long-term commitment to your project

We welcome backgrounds in electrical and electronics, computer, biomedical, chemical and biological engineering, as well as physics, chemistry, biology and materials science.

Undergraduate researchers (BSc)

Undergraduate researchers join an ongoing project and work side by side with our graduate students and postdocs, with the aim of contributing to publications. We look for students who want a sustained research experience over several semesters. For many, it is the first step toward graduate research.

To apply: email your CV, your transcript, and a few lines on which topic interests you and why.

MSc and PhD students

MSc and PhD students enroll in one of the following programs of the Graduate School of Sciences and Engineering at Koç University, under the supervision of Dr. Murat Kuşcu:

  • Electrical and Electronics Engineering
  • Biomedical Sciences and Engineering
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Computational Sciences and Engineering

Application deadline: 15 December 2026 (early applications are evaluated on a rolling basis)
Start date: by September 2027 at the latest

To apply:

  1. Email your CV, transcripts and a short statement of your research interests.
  2. Submit your formal application to the Graduate School by the deadline.

Graduate School: How to apply · Financial aid packages

Postdoctoral researchers

Postdoctoral researchers can join CALICO Lab through competitive fellowships, with the lab as the host group. We are currently looking for postdoctoral researchers in three directions:

  • Artificial cells and their interactions with living systems, including molecular communication: cell-sized lipid vesicles, built from the bottom up on microfluidic chips.
  • Chemical and physical computing, and wetware AI: information processing with the dynamics of molecular, physical and biological systems.
  • Adaptive biosensors and reconfigurable microfluidic systems: devices that generate, carry and read molecular signals, fabricated with access to class-100 cleanroom facilities.

We welcome backgrounds from chemistry, synthetic biology and biophysics to physics, engineering and computer science, and we are glad to discuss other research ideas that fit our work.

Koç University Postdoctoral Fellowship · now open

  • Open to researchers of any nationality and any field, within five years of completing their PhD at the time of appointment; final-year PhD students can apply
  • One year, extendable to two, with a monthly stipend of 95,000 TL (net), health insurance and campus benefits, access to the university’s research infrastructure, and eligibility for internal seed grants
  • Applications include a research proposal endorsed by the host supervisor, so please get in touch early
  • Deadline: 15 November 2026
  • Call and application

CoCirculation3 (TÜBİTAK 2236-A, co-funded by the European Union under MSCA COFUND)

  • For experienced researchers of any nationality who hold a PhD at the call deadline
  • Fellowships of 12 to 24 months at a host in Türkiye, with a living allowance of €3,980 per month (gross), €1,000 per month for research, training and networking, and a family allowance for eligible researchers
  • Mobility rule: no more than 12 months of residence or main activity in Türkiye in the 36 months before the deadline
  • Next deadline: 3 November 2026, with a final call planned for 2027 (confirm the dates on the programme website)
  • Programme website

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships (European Commission)

  • For researchers of any nationality who hold a PhD at the call deadline and have at most eight years of research experience after it
  • One to two years at a host in Europe or a Horizon Europe associated country, including Türkiye
  • The same mobility rule: no more than 12 months in Türkiye in the 36 months before the deadline
  • Next deadline: September 2027
  • Programme website

Other fellowships: we are also open to other national and international fellowship schemes.

To apply: email your CV with a publication list, a one-page outline of the research you would like to pursue with us, and the fellowship you plan to apply to. Please get in touch as early as possible before the call deadline.

How to apply

Email Dr. Murat Kuşcu at [email protected] with the documents listed for your level, and write “CALICO Lab application: BSc”, “MSc”, “PhD” or “Postdoc” in the subject line.

Keywords: molecular communication, Internet of Bio-Nano Things, biosensors, graphene, microfluidics, artificial cells, synthetic biology, molecular computing, information theory