Research Scientist - Virology

Research Scientist - Virology 
 

Harwell, Oxford
 

Competitive Salary

RBW Consulting are delighted to be partnered with a clinical stage T cell immunotherapy company developing products to treat and prevent cancer and infectious diseases. They currently have a Phase 2 clinical trial for prostate cancer and a Phase 1 clinical program for chronic HBV. 

An opportunity has arised to join a team that is focused on therapeutic vaccine research and development. The successful candidate will participate in the development of new approaches to generate immunotherapeutics against infectious disease and cancer. 

Responsibilities:

• Give input to the strategy and develop and conduct laboratory work involved in the design, construction, growth, and evaluation of viral vector vaccine candidates
• Keep up to date on the field of immunotherapeutics, and review and suggest new approaches, alternative laboratory methods, or new studies to improve the outcome of a given objective
• Perform quality control assays on research-grade viral vectored vaccine preparations (physical titer, infectious titer, sequence verification, transgene expression)
• Maintain and evaluate both mammalian and bacterial cell cultures for growth conditions, DNA purification and viral vector production, and interpret and present the data in a concise and orderly fashion.
• Assist in studies to optimise the ability to manufacture viral-vectored vaccines, such as evaluation of alternative transfection systems, host or vector gene deletions or insertions, viral culture yield, systems for viral growth, etc.
• Evaluate and perform analytic assays to determine the quality, yield, stability, etc. of specific candidates or of specific manufacturing process conditions as required
• Assist in ordering supplies, making reagents and maintaining the laboratory in order to conduct necessary experiments.
• Work under GRP (good research practice) conditions, with the appropriate requisite training and documentation
• Participate in the development and conduct of laboratory meetings, and give presentations inside and outside the company as required
• Attend at least one relevant scientific meeting/course per year to continue educational advancement.

Requirements:
 

• Master’s degree plus 4 years of laboratory experience, or a recent PhD, in virology/molecular biology
• Relevant work experience, with demonstrated experience in laboratory bench work with molecular biology and cell and virus culture systems
• Proficiency in designing experiments and conducting research using a variety of methodologies; e.g. design and cloning of mammalian expression cassettes, PCR, DNA sequence interpretation, ELISA, western blot, viral growth curves, viral titers, transfections, virus purification
• Excellent writing and communication skills; ability to understand and communicate scientific information; proficiency in Powerpoint, graphic displays and tables
• A self-starter with the ability to work in a fast-paced environment and adapt quickly to changing needs and priorities; proven ability to prioritise and manage multiple tasks simultaneously