Postdoctoral Fellow – Influenza Vaccine - Saskatoon, Canada - Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization
Description
Dr. Aneesh Thakur, Principal Investigator, Laboratory of Vaccine Engineering, and Immunology (LVEI) is seeking an outstanding Postdoctoral Fellow focusing on Influenza vaccine development to join his team.
H5N1, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), also known as bird flu, is a serious disease and requires rapid response because it is highly contagious and often fatal to chickens. Most efforts to develop vaccines against H5N1 infection in chickens have relied on traditional vaccine platforms that do not induce a strong immune response and provide only limited immunity due to rapid virus mutation and rearrangement. Messenger RNA is a promising vaccine technology to develop novel H5N1 vaccines in chicken. Moreover, aerosol delivery of mRNA can generate protective immunity in the lungs against HPAI. However, little is known about how to design safe mRNA vaccines for administration in the respiratory tract and how to achieve potent airway mucosal immunity. The purpose of this project is to develop and test an inhalable mRNA vaccine against H5N1 infection in chicken. The project will combine approaches in drug delivery, immunology, virology, and in vivo infection models to achieve the objectives.
Profile
We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic scientist with the following competencies and experience:
Essential experience and skills:
· PhD (completed in the past three years) in Immunology, Drug Delivery, or another related discipline
· Hands-on experience with formulation, cell culture, flow cytometry, and molecular biology techniques
· Team player with excellent oral and written communication skills
· Effective organizational and time management skills
Desirable experience and skills:
· Experience in the formulation and characterization of nanoparticles
· Experience in animal experimental trials especially chicken
· Experience in in vitro transcription and RNA purification
Experience working with biosafety level 3 pathogens is an asset but not required. The selected candidate will have the opportunity to be trained in world class containment level 3 facilities and at Vaccine Development Centre, the GMP vaccine manufacturing facility at VIDO.
Interested candidates are asked to submit their application in one single application document (pdf file) including a statement of research interest, complete curriculum vitae (CV), and contact information of three references:
About VIDO
The Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), Canada's Centre for Pandemic Research, is a world leader in infectious disease research and vaccine development for humans and animals. Located at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, VIDO is home to one of the largest and most advanced containment level 3 facilities in the world. To strengthen the preparedness for emerging infectious diseases we are currently expanding our infrastructure to include containment level 4 capacity, a GMP vaccine manufacturing facility, and a new animal housing facility. Our vision includes having the capacity to study any emerging disease in any animal model embracing a One Health approach to prevent emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in humans and animals.