If you’re a Cal undergrad, please reach out by email and cc your GSI; include who the letter is for, your CV, your personal statement, and the deadline. Please get in contact with your request a minimum of 1 month before the deadline.

No, not at this time.

We occasionally have openings for research assistants. Students seeking summer research through SEED, UC LEADS, Amgen Scholars or the Beckman Scholars programs should contact me directly; other students should apply via the UCB SURF or URAP programs.

No, not at this time.

Note: We are not taking Ph.D. students in fall 2024. Prospective students should apply to the Cal graduate program of their choice, and list the Lewis Lab as a sponsor of interest in the application. Then reach out by email *after* receiving an offer to interview. In the MCB program, enrolled students complete 3 lab rotations and choose their advisor at the end of the first year in graduate school.

Project ideas that fall under the broad umbrella of having to do with mitochondria, membrane remodeling, metabolism, and nucleic acid biochemistry are fair game! Our current work spans studies of the mitochondrial genome itself, mitochondrial gene expression, and interactions of viruses with mitochondria. I prefer to collaboratively develop projects through conversations with students during their first year in my lab.

Mammalian fibroblasts; mammalian cancer cells; both primary and iPSC-derived mammalian neurons; and Caenorhabditis elegans

I often provide letters of recommendation to undergraduates I’ve taught. Otherwise, no, that would be a conflict of interest. I am happy to update prospective applicants about our current research, however.

See the ‘Join Us’ page for information about Graduate Diversity Programs at Cal, and how to obtain an application fee waiver.

No! Absolutely not! Enthusiasm, motivation, and clear communication are what’s important in the Lewis Lab.

Domestic students are funded by a combination of department support (first 1-3 years), PI grants, fellowships, and philanthropic gifts. International students are funded by PI grants, fellowships and philanthropic gifts.

No. However I ask that each Ph.D. student apply for one predoctoral fellowship and one dissertation fellowship. Regardless of the outcome, thinking deeply about your project(s), communicating your goals in writing, and explaining why your work is important (and therefore worthy of public funds) are valuable exercises.

Active grants from the National Institutes of Health, grants from several private philanthropic foundations, research gifts, and lab start-up funds.

Yes; please write to me by email to explain how your previous training led you to be interested in joining our particular group, and what collaborative research opportunities you would like to pursue. Include your CV and contact information for 2-3 references. I receive many requests and thus don’t respond to generic inquiries.