FDA Fellowship - Structural Vaccinology

Organization: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

About the role

A research opportunity is currently available in the Office of Vaccines Research and Review (OVRR) at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Silver Spring, Maryland.

You will join a new lab that uses cryo-electron microscopy to understand how viral proteins are recognized by antibodies at an atomic level, and how that recognition can be exploited to design effective vaccines. This is an exciting opportunity for those who want to learn structural biology and apply new ideas to antigen design.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute experiments to determine the structures of clinically relevant viral proteins and their associated antibodies and receptors
• Express protein through transient transfection
• Purify protein (affinity and size exclusion chromatography)
• Conduct protein binding experiments (ELISA or SPR)
• Develop and optimize protocols for sample preparation and imaging by cryo-EM
• Collect and analyze cryo-EM data using a Tundra microscope
• Monitor and troubleshoot experiments
• Analyze, interpret, and present scientific data
• Write scientific manuscripts and design figures to communicate scientific findings
• Develop new projects using structural biology to enable vaccine development
• Build and analyze atomic-level protein models

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should have received a master's or doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields (e.g. Structural Biology, Virology, Immunology, Biochemistry) or be currently pursuing the degree with completion expected prior to the appointment starting date. Degree must have been received within the past five years.

A background in protein expression, purification, and structural biology is preferred but drive, initiative, and an enthusiastic attitude can go a long way towards making up for a lack of experience.

Skills

• Organizational and communication skills
• Drive to learn new techniques
• Experience with protein expression using mammalian cells
• Experience with protein purification
• Record of publications in peer-reviewed journals
• Knowledge of immunology, virology
• Experience with structural biology software (Pymol, Phenix, Chimera, etc.)

Benefits

The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program.

Schedule

The appointment is full-time and will initially be for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of FDA and is contingent on the availability of funds.

Eligibility

This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals. Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens for information about valid immigration statuses.

Completion of a successful background investigation by the Office of Personnel Management is required. OPM can complete a background investigation only for individuals who have resided in the U.S. for a total of three of the past five years.