Senior Scientist, Antibody Translational Research

Senior Scientist, Antibody Translational Research

Job Title :
Senior Scientist, Antibody Translational Research
Location : Cape Town, South Africa;
Remote - South Africa Reports to :
Senior Director, Clinical Laboratory Operations & Immunology

POSITION SUMMARY:

Help IAVI translate science into global health impact as a Senior Scientist!

IAVI is seeking a Senior Scientist, Antibody Translational Research to lead innovative antibody research programs that advance global health while building sustainable scientific capacity across Africa.

The Senior Scientist, Antibody Translational Research is responsible for the conceptualization, development, and execution of preclinical and translational research activities advancing antibody science  Senior Scientist executes their responsibilities in partnership with strategic, technical, and programmatic leads within the Discovery Science team  Senior Scientist will work extensively with IAVI’s Global Clinical Laboratory O perations and Immunology teams, as well as the network of partnered research institutions across East and Southern Africa .

The Senior Scientist designs programming to promote innovation, technical rigor, and collaboration to establish sustainable research platforms within the antibody research community in Africa. The Senior Scientist aligns the antibody translational research agenda with the conceptualization and implementation of novel research activities, building and nurturing partnerships as part of this process and assisting and advising stakeholders on technical and programmatic matters to ensure successful delivery.

• Serve as conceptual and technical scientific lead in the development and implementation of high-quality translational research programs, with a focus on translational research advancing pediatric indications for HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs)
• Analyze and interpret relevant virological and antibody datasets to guide selection of antibody lead candidates and further antibody product development strategy
• Prepare manuscripts, reports, and scientific presentations on antibody research
• Curate and quality-control IAVI monoclonal antibody sequence datasets and associated metadata
• Harmonize antibody nomenclature and lineage annotations to curate existing IAVI datasets

• Communicate scientific strategy to internal and external stakeholders and support long-term scientific independence planning
• Draft and refine concept notes and grant proposals for the advancement of human immunology discovery science
• Define primary, secondary, and exploratory scientific objectives and support development of study synopses and analytical plans
• Coordinate internal scientific reviews and finalize grant submissions
• Support donor engagement and provide scientific justification for proposed programs
• Represent IAVI-affiliated research at scientific meetings and conferences

• Establish and strengthen antibody discovery and clinical immunology research capacity in East and Southern Africa by serving as a scientific liaison, maintaining and growing strategic partnerships with new and existing collaborating African research institutions
• Tailor and deliver scientific training programs; mentor early-career researchers and technical staff
• Support assay development, technology transfer, standardization, and adoption of best practices
• Build partnerships with regional research institutions to strengthen regional R&D ecosystems

• A Ph.D. in Immunology or Virology or equivalent is required.
• Minimum 5 years’ work experience in a medical/ academic/research…