Staff Scientist, Cellular Immunology Section

Staff Scientist, Cellular Immunology Section

Vaccine Research Center

NIAID, NIH

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center (VRC) is recruiting for a staff scientist in the Cellular Immunology Section (CIS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The VRC is seeking a candidate to join the highly active CIS, which is part of the Immunology Laboratory (IML). The CIS seeks to provide a mechanistic basis for developing preventive vaccines against HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis and therapeutic vaccines against cancer. Current projects in this section include the isolation of monoclonal antibodies against proteins expressed on malaria parasites for use as passive prevention, investigations into the influence of various vaccine platforms on T-cell immunity, studies on innate immunity, adjuvants, and personalized cancer vaccine design, and clinical translation of vaccine candidates against malaria and tuberculosis.

The successful candidate will use his or her training and work experience to perform highly complex basic research related to the isolation and characterization of new monoclonal antibodies against malaria and other diseases as well as advance candidate therapeutics through preclinical trials. The successful candidate will independently plan and execute preclinical immunogenicity and challenge vaccine studies in mouse models and perform standard immunological assays to analyze antibody vaccine responses.  

In addition to the above responsibilities, the staff scientist is expected to:

• Independently develop, improve, analyze, and troubleshoot experiments related to the isolation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies against malaria using gene-based technologies, immune assays, and cell-based assays.
• Provide supervision, mentorship, and training to junior and new research staff.
• Establish and participate in research collaborations with other NIH investigators and/or outside organizations.
• Serve as the key resource on emerging scientific and technological developments related to malaria antibody development, monoclonal antibody isolation and characterization, malaria mosquito studies, and preclinical vaccine studies in mouse models.
• Maintain detailed records of experiments and prepare the information resulting from these experiments for presentations at laboratory-wide, NIH-wide, and national and international meetings as well as for publication.
• Contribute to laboratory upkeep and routine maintenance of equipment.
• Maintain laboratory supplies and equipment, including chemicals, biological materials, carcinogens, recombinant protein materials, acids, biological wastes, etc.

The ideal candidate will have a doctoral degree with a minimum of four years’ relevant postdoctoral experience. The candidate must have a deep knowledge of malaria antibody research, coupled with extensive experience in isolating and characterizing antibodies of interest, malaria mosquito studies, preclinical immunogenicity and challenge vaccine studies in mouse models, and related immunoassays to facilitate antibody research. Finally, the candidate must have a strong first/senior author publication record.

Requirements

• M.D. and/or Ph.D. in biology, immunology, or related discipline
• At least 4 years of relevant postdoctoral experience
• At least 4 years of direct experience conducting immunological assays to characterize malaria specific immune responses
• At least 4 years of experience in microbiology, cell biology, and/or immunology
• Extensive experience in handling biological samples and standard practices related to biohazardous material
• Demonstrated experience and strong knowledge of monoclonal antibody isolation and characterization
• Strong publication record in immunology and/or microbiology

U.S. Citizenship is not required.

The salary will be based on the individual’s qualifications and experience. 

To Apply

Interested candidates may contact Valerie Lawrence via email, vrcadmin@niaid.nih.gov, for additional information about the position. To apply for the position, candidates must submit a curriculum vitae (CV), statement of research interest, and contact information for three referees who will be asked to provide letters of reference.

HHS, NIH, and NIAID are equal opportunity employers.