Postdoctoral Fellow – Host-Pathogen Interactions and Structural Vaccinology of Malaria Vaccines

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD and surrounding area

Focus on protein and antigen design: The individual will conduct protein design studies of immunogens with a focus on antigens that are high priority vaccine candidates, and evaluation of the designed immunogens in animal models for malaria. The successful individual will leverage the structural data available for antigens and antigen-antibody complexes to design novel immunogens, will employ established computational methods and devise novel immunogen design strategies, and will convert designs into viable immunogens.
Focus on host-pathogen interactions: The individual will determine the structure of host-parasite and vector-parasite complexes required for malaria parasite viability. Extensive structural biology resources are available for these projects. It is increasingly clear that malaria parasites use diverse host-parasite and vector-parasite interactions to ensure parasite survival. The structures of these complexes are poorly defined and the lack of this fundamental information hampers current efforts to design vaccines that will prevent critical interactions.
Focus on antibody neutralization and immune evasion mechanisms: The individual will isolate and characterize human monoclonal antibodies to key antigens. These efforts will include the isolation of antigen-specific B cells and the structural and biophysical studies of antibody-antigen complexes. Extensive cell sorting and structural biology resources are available for these projects. Additional resources include data and samples from human cohort studies with intensive surveillance of malaria outcomes. The successful candidate will structurally define neutralizing antibody epitopes in key antigens towards understanding the human antibody response to malaria and the immune evasion mechanisms employed by the parasite

Qualifications:

• Experience in any aspect of protein design, high-throughput screening, animal models for malaria including sporozoite dissection, structural biology, biophysics, host-pathogen interactions, molecular parasitology, antibody isolation and characterization and/or human immunology is desirable.
• Previous experience with single-cell sorting, single-cell sequencing, antibody-antigen complexes, cryo-electron microscopy, x-ray crystallography, small-angle x-ray scattering, bio-layer interferometry, malaria, parasite culture, and/or parasite manipulation is useful.
• Candidates with expertise in any one area, or with overlapping expertise, and who are close to graduation or are recent graduates are encouraged to apply

To Apply:

Candidates should address their application to Dr. Niraj Tolia and submit their CV, bibliography, a cover letter stating their research interests, and three letters of reference to Chaketa Ingram at chaketa.ingram@nih.gov

The NIH is dedicated to building a community in its training and employment programs and encourages the application and nomination of qualified women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities.