Postdoctoral Fellow

Postdoctoral Fellow

The University of Texas at Austin provides competitive compensation plans plus a comprehensive benefits package that includes: insurance and Teachers Retirement System (TRS) retirement benefits; paid vacation, sick and holiday time off; access to employee professional development and wellness services; the opportunity to qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) federal program; and more.

This position may occasionally require work additional hours or on weekends as needed to complete time-sensitive projects. Postdoctoral fellow positions are temporary positions, renewable annually based on mutual agreement and continued funding.

The Postdoctoral Fellow reports to Dr. Maria Croyle in the College of Pharmacy to facilitate a funded research project to evaluate the physical and biochemical properties of materials that sustain the viability of primary cells and established cell lines when stored at ambient and elevated temperatures. A secondary focus will be the evaluation of the performance of a panel of stabilized vaccines (viral, mRNA, protein subunit) after administration in several in vivo models of infectious disease.

Responsibilities:

• Perform general experiments, some of which may require design of protocols to optimize and characterize formulations in which vaccines and cells are stored
• Perform in vivo experiments including preparation and characterization of vaccine candidates, collection and processing of samples, data analysis
• Publish and present work in high quality peer reviewed journals and at national/international meetings
• Provide support in writing and preparation of grant applications (NIH, NSF, DOD etc)
• Maintain records of safety and other administrative documents required for continual operation of the lab
• Additional duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• A Ph.D. degree in Materials Science, Bioengineering, Drug Delivery, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Immunology, or other related life sciences. PhD must have been earned within three years of start date.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt to diverse interdisciplinary research projects
• Superior time management, critical thinking, documentation and interpersonal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to publish novel research in peer reviewed journals.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 1-2 years post-PhD research experience
• Experience in aseptic technique, working under BSL II conditions and animal work a plus
• Experience with virus-based assays (infectious titer, neutralizing antibodies)
• Experience in performing flow cytometry with primary cells
• Experience in working with mRNA based vaccines a plus
• Some experience in bioinformatics / analysis of RNA-Seq datasets a plus

Salary Range:

• $56,484+ depending on qualifications

Working Conditions:

• BSL II Virology Laboratory
• Open office environment
• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation
• Use of manual dexterity
• Ability to lift 20 pounds regularly

Required Materials:

• CV
• Letter of Interest
• List of 3 Professional References; at least one must be from a supervisor