Postdoctoral Associate

    Postdoctoral Associate, Antibody Optimization

Location:            Neutralizing Antibody Center, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA

Reports to:         Director, Product Discovery and Optimization

Position Summary:

IAVI’s Neutralizing Antibody Center (IAVI-NAC) based at Scripps Research is seeking motivated candidates for a post-doctoral associate position for antibody optimization and development. The candidate will focus on the optimization of HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies for enhanced functional activity to fill a pipeline of candidates that will enter clinical trials. This project will involve yeast display, directed evolution, protein design, antibody characterization, and early development techniques and approaches. This position will be based at the California campus of Scripps Research in La Jolla, CA, which offers access to broad range of research conducted on site, interaction with renowned scientists, seminar series, society of fellows and exposure to a scientific environment with state of the art equipment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Conduct independent research on a research topic with short and long-term objectives.
• Use a blend of mutagenesis screening of saturated and combinatorial libraries paired with deep sequencing and informatics analysis to develop multiple candidate antibodies for clinical development
• Ensure successful candidate antibodies can potently neutralize antigenically diverse HIV strains through multistate optimization against a large panel of viral antigens selected to represent the present day circulating viral diversity.
• Ensure candidate antibodies do not have undesirable properties, such as polyreactivity, that disrupt manufacturability and/or downstream clinical applications.
• Conduct directed evolution using yeast display
• Conduct protein production in mammalian and yeast systems
• Engineer and optimize protein constructs to improve expression, activity, or stability
• Evaluate antibody variants in functional and developability assays
• Conduct data analysis and interpretation and use solution-oriented, creative thinking to address technical hurdles
• Draft manuscripts for research publication and present findings at major scientific conferences
• Perform other tasks as assigned by the manager

Education and Work Experience:

• PhD or MD/PhD in a relevant field with a strong publication record is required.
• Background in antibody discovery, protein design, protein biochemistry, and/or structural biology is highly desirable.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Working in a fast-paced collaborative, interdisciplinary team environment and capable of adhering to timelines and important milestones is required.
• Excellent communication skills, including writing reports and manuscripts and delivering engaging presentations is required.
• Strong work ethics and being motivated and committed to IAVI’s mission of translating science into global health impact is required.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with cultural sensitivity and respect for diverse colleagues is required.
• Working knowledge of HIV vaccine design or immunology is desirable.
• Knowledge and experience with protein biochemistry and production is desirable.