Description
Professor Wayne Patrick is recruiting a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Protein Design to join his group at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, on a two-year, full-time contract.
The successful candidate will join a well-funded research program at the interface of biochemistry and immunology, which aims to design new vaccines against diseases with pandemic-inducing potential. The Postdoctoral Research Fellow will implement a Design-Build-Test-Learn workflow that uses AI-driven protein design tools and high-throughput screening to evaluate novel antigens for their usefulness when deployed as RNA vaccines.
Based in beautiful Wellington, New Zealand, the starting salary for the position is NZ$91,738 (approximately US$53,300).
Key responsibilities:
- Design novel proteins computationally, and then conduct the relevant experiments to characterize and rank them.
- Contribute to the supervision and training of students and/or other team members.
- Contribute to the preparation of manuscripts for publication.
- Engage with collaborators (locally, nationally and internationally).
Requirements
As the ideal candidate, you are passionate about fast-paced, innovative and impactful research. You are driven to design novel vaccines against diseases with pandemic-inducing potential. You thrive at the interface between AI-driven protein design and laboratory-based experiments to test your designs. Above all, you are excited to contribute your expertise to a highly collaborative, multi-disciplinary team.
Key requirements:
- A PhD in biochemistry, biotechnology, or similar, along with evidence of high-quality research outputs.
- Knowledge of, and experience in, protein engineering. In particular, this will include experience with AI-driven computational design tools as well as functional characterization of top-ranked designs. Relevant experience will also include high-throughput screening in vitro and/or in cultured mammalian cells.
- An organized and systematic approach to experimental design, laboratory practice and record keeping.
- Self-motivated and able to work independently.
- Able to relate to—and work synergistically with—a diverse range of staff and students within the research environment.
To apply:
Further details, including the link to apply, are available at the University's online jobs portal, which can be found here.
The closing date for applications is 11.55 pm on Thursday, April 16 (New Zealand Time).