Biological Scientist

Additional Qualifications:

Certifications & Licenses

• PhD in Biology or a related field is required.

Field of Study

• Biology

Software

• Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint Prism FlowJo

Skills

• Minimum of 2+ years or experience with manufacturing/clinical trials is required.

Deliverables:

• Provide reports - Ad-Hoc

Statement of Work Details:

• Coordinate intake and prioritization of Structural Biology Core (SBC) requests from VRC cores and sections for structural characterization of viral proteins, immunogens, or vaccine-elicited antibodies, triaging targets based on program timelines, and maintaining a shared tracking log of active structural targets and their status. - 1
• Coordinate handoffs across the SBC structural biology pipeline (construct design, expression, purification, QC, structural data collection, structure refinement/analysis), tracking timelines at each stage, flagging bottlenecks to SBC leadership and relevant VRC labs, and facilitating scheduling of shared structural biology resources and instrumentation (e.g., cryo-EM time, crystallization robots) across concurrent projects requested by multiple cores. - 2
• Serve as point of contact between the Structural Biology Core and other VRC cores and sections to relay structural findings (e.g., epitope mapping, antigenicity/antibody complex structures) that inform immunogen design iterations or manufacturing decisions and prepare structural summary reports and figures for internal review meetings and regulatory-facing documentation. - 3
• Maintain records of solved structures, deposition status (e.g., PDB submissions), and associated metadata for internal reference and manuscript preparation, and track material transfer and reagent-sharing agreements related to structural biology reagents (e.g., purified antigens, Fab fragments) distributed across collaborating VRC and external labs. - 4
• Compile structural biology progress updates for inclusion in SBC joint meetings with VRC labs, program milestone reports, and regulatory nonclinical summaries. - 5

• Provides technical experience needed to assist in studying the basic principles of plant and animal life

• Determine and analyze three-dimensional structures of HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins and antibodies, with or without additional ligands.

• Express and purify or coordinate distribution of purified proteins from eukaryotic expression systems.

• Perform or coordinate immunogenicity studies in small animals (from protein design to production to biochemical and physical analysis to immunogenicity in animals to neutralization of immunized sera).

• Maintain laboratory stocks of VPP reagents used for research and animal studies (prepare aliquots, track inventory, and distribute).

• Coordinate and track preclinical animal studies for HIV vaccines, analyze immunogenicity data, and prepare nonclinical study summaries for regulatory filings.

• Collaborate with regulatory and clinical teams for preparation of regulatory documents and protocol development.

• Assists with performing basic laboratory experiments and procedures.

• Express, purify, and characterize binding and structural properties of vaccine-elicited antibodies.

• Provide quantitative analysis of protein yield and purity

• Express and purify or coordinate distribution of purified proteins from eukaryotic expression systems.

• Crystallize or utilize cryo-EM technologies for structure determination of antibodies and HIV-1 glycoproteins, both ligand-free and/or with ligands.

• Perform or coordinate production of antibodies.

• Work closely with others to identify, acquire, and conduct preclinical evaluation of clinical grade adjuvants.

• Prepares, organizes and maintains various lab samples, supplies, and equipment.

• Organize recurring structural biology working group meetings, involving relevant VRC cores and sections as needed, to review pipeline status, discuss unresolved structures, and plan upcoming targets, preparing agendas, minutes, and presentation materials summarizing structural biology progress for both internal SBS review and cross-lab meetings.

• Learns new laboratory techniques and procedures.

• Prepare text, tables, and figures for manuscripts for publication.

• Serve as project liaison between SBC and VPP to coordinate preclinical research, product development, and manufacturing activities for HIV-1 active vaccine development.

• Organize meetings with VPP teams to discuss research and manufacturing efforts for HIV vaccine products (prepare meeting agendas, take meeting notes, prepare presentation slides).

• Communicate SBC/Virology Core research to HIV vaccine development teams regarding lead HIV vaccine candidates, such as HIV fusion peptide and Env trimer immunogens.