Interested in the lab? Please check out this page before contacting the lab regarding positions.

Current Status

Undergraduates: The lab is currently at capacity for undergraduate researchers. Openings may become available in future semesters.
Postdocs: We do not have postdoc positions available at this point, but we will post such positions via UMD and other job boards when any become available.

About the Lab

Our research focuses on computational structural biology, with an emphasis on immune recognition. Current projects include modeling and designing antibody–antigen and T cell receptor (TCR) interactions, benchmarking and applying deep learning and physics-based methods, generating and updating structural immunology databases and resources, and developing computational approaches for protein design and analysis.
Location: The lab is located at the University of Maryland Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR), in Rockville, Maryland, about a 35 minute drive from the College Park campus.

Ways to Join

Prospective or first-year Ph.D. students. The lab accepts students through two University of Maryland graduate programs:

• The Biological Sciences (BISI) graduate program, Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, and Genomics (CBBG) concentration
• The Biophysics graduate program

Applicants should apply directly to one of these programs. Admission is handled by the program, not by individual labs. Feel free to email Dr. Pierce if you have any questions or would like to discuss your interests and the lab. If you are an incoming or current first-year student, feel free to contact Dr. Pierce to arrange a rotation in the lab.

Undergraduates. We accept undergraduate researchers from the University of Maryland, College Park. Students should generally have:

• Prior programming experience (e.g. Python and/or shell scripting)
• Interest in computational biology, machine learning, or structural biology
• Availability to commit consistent time (at least one semester)

Interested undergraduate students can email Dr. Pierce directly (see "How to Inquire" below). Students can receive research course credit through BSCI379G.

High school students. The lab accepts high school students through the IBBR-MCPS internship program.

Montgomery County high school students with programming experience and interest in computational structural biology can apply directly to that program (applications open in the January timeframe) and let Dr. Pierce know.

How to Inquire

If you're interested in the lab and would like to email Dr. Pierce, please make sure to include:

• Why you are interested in the lab (e.g. a publication you've seen from the lab, alignment with your previous research or courses)
• Your CV/resume
• Unofficial transcript (high school/undergraduate students)