Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Outbreak Pathogens

Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Outbreak Pathogens

We have exciting opportunities to join the Oxford Vaccine Group (OVG) in the Department of Paediatrics as Postdoctoral Research Scientists in the Outbreak Pathogens team under Professor Teresa Lambe OBE. The role will involve work across vaccine design, preclinical testing, immunological assay development and translational immunology, supporting both preclinical programmes and early-phase/first-in-human clinical studies. Current programmes include accelerated vaccine development in response to outbreak threats, including filoviruses such as Marburg virus, Sudan ebolavirus and Bundibugyo ebolavirus, alongside work on hantaviruses, arenaviruses and other emerging pathogens.

We are seeking three experienced and ambitious vaccine immunologists to play leading roles in the development and clinical evaluation of next generation vaccines for emerging and outbreak prone infections. These posts will sit at the interface of pre clinical development and phase I trials, with direct impact on first in human studies and outbreak responsive programmes.

You will have a strong background in vaccinology or immunology, with expertise in vaccine development and/or immunological assay development, preferably across viral vector and/or mRNA-LNP platforms. The role spans both pre clinical development and phase I clinical trials. You will lead the design, optimisation, validation and troubleshooting of immunological and vaccine characterisation assays, supporting ongoing and upcoming pre clinical and first in human studies. The successful candidate will be confident using a broad range of techniques to characterise vaccine constructs and the immune responses they elicit, from protein expression through to detailed profiling of innate and adaptive immunity. This is likely to include assays such as PCR, ELISA, ELISpot, multiparameter or spectral flow cytometry, intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) and activation induced marker (AIM) assays, alongside contemporary high dimensional and single cell platforms.

Working closely with clinical, regulatory, manufacturing and academic collaborators, you will interpret complex datasets in real time to inform critical programme decisions. You will ideally bring experience in evaluating vaccine candidates in both in vitro and in vivo settings during preclinical and early phase clinical development. You will be keen to develop and apply novel approaches that deepen our understanding of vaccine induced immunity, for example, multiplexed functional assays and omics driven or systems immunology analyses. You will have a proactive, adaptable and collaborative approach, and will thrive on generating and analysing complex immunological datasets (including with artificial intelligence and machine learning based tools where appropriate). You will be keen to learn, test and develop new analytical methods. You must be able to work independently with excellent record keeping and data management skills. You will be expected to document work to publication standard, prepare manuscript quality reports of interim findings, and contribute to presentations, grant applications and manuscript writing.

The Lambe group at the University of Oxford focuses on improving human health through vaccination, with a particular emphasis on preventing epidemics from becoming pandemics. The team investigates protective immune responses after infection and vaccination and uses these insights to design effective, durable vaccination strategies.

Right now, the group is at the forefront of the global response to the current Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak. Working with international partners, the team is developing and testing a Bundibugyo ebolavirus vaccine with the explicit goal of deployment in the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries. At the same time, the group works proactively across multiple high consequence pathogens - including Ebola virus, Marburg virus, Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever virus, Nipah virus and coronaviruses - to ensure that vaccines and immunological tools are in place before the next outbreak, not just in reaction to it. Several of these vaccine candidates have already progressed to clinical trials: the group's Ebola vaccine (ChAdOx1 biEBOV) was selected by WHO for use in a ring vaccination strategy during the Sudan ebolavirus outbreak in Uganda, and their Marburg vaccine candidate has also been selected by WHO for inclusion in clinical trials. The group is led by Professor Teresa Lambe OBE, a Principal Investigator on the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID 19 vaccine programme, who co designed the vaccine in January 2020, led pre clinical studies and oversaw the generation of immune data that underpinned regulatory approval. The vaccine played a major role in the global COVID 19 response and is estimated to have saved more than six million lives in 2021.

The Lambe team is a vibrant, highly multidisciplinary team of around 46 people, including postdoctoral scientists, research assistants and DPhil students. The team brings together expertise in vaccinology, immunology, clinical trials and data science, and offers a dynamic, supportive environment for researchers who want their work to have real world impact on emerging and outbreak prone infections.

These position are offered full time on a fixed term contract for 24 months in the first instance with the possibility to extend provided further external funding is available. Due to the laboratory based nature of the role, the postholder will be expected to work onsite for the majority of their working time. Some remote working may be possible where duties allow and with prior approval. Flexibility in working hours is required with potential for evening or weekend work during busy periods. This role meets the criteria for a UK Skilled Worker visa.

You will hold a relevant PhD/DPhil in vaccinology, immunology, infectious diseases, virology, biomedical sciences or a closely related discipline, together with relevant experience. You will have sufficient specialist knowledge to contribute to established outbreak pathogens research programmes, including the design, characterisation or assessment of vaccine candidates.

You will have strong laboratory expertise in wet lab immunology or vaccine development, with experience in techniques such as ELISA, ELISpot, multiparameter flow cytometry, CIC, AIM assays, PCR, Western blotting, immunofluorescence, sterile cell culture or related preclinical immunology methods. Experience with neutralisation assays, spectral flow cytometry, systems serology, single cell or transcriptomic approaches, mucosal immunology assays, advanced in vitro models, omics driven or systems immunology analyses would also be advantageous. Experience in vaccine design, preclinical vaccine assessment, adenoviral or mRNA vaccine platforms, protein antigen generation, monoclonal antibody generation, animal handling or working to GCP/HTA requirements would be desirable.

You will be able to manage your own academic research and associated activities, deliver high quality analytical outputs, and contribute to publications, presentations and research proposals. You will have excellent communication skills, strong organisational skills, and the ability to prioritise and deliver to deadlines. You will also be able to work collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams and communicate scientific ideas clearly and effectively.

Salary (£) : 39,424 - 47,779 per annum (with a discretionary range to 53,483 per annum)