Postdoc in Outbreak Pathogens - Vaccinology & Immunology

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, arena viruses 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…