Open Positions
Postdoctoral Fellow (Rotavirus Vaccine Design)
About the Institute for Protein Design
Located at the University of Washington in Seattle, the Institute for Protein Design is a unique interdisciplinary environment where world-class researchers create new proteins that solve modern challenges in medicine, technology, and sustainability. Joining our team means becoming part of one of the largest and most innovative public universities in the world. Your work here will support scientific inquiry and help ensure that laboratory breakthroughs lead to positive impact.
About the King Lab
The King Lab at the Institute for Protein Design is a world leader in applying computational protein design to develop new protein-based technologies for medical applications. A recent focus of the lab has been structure-based vaccine design, including antigen and nanoparticle immunogen design. This has generated a licensed vaccine for COVID-19 and multiple vaccine candidates now in clinical trials, including an RSV/HMPV combination vaccine that recently completed Phase II trials.
About the Project
With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the King Lab seeks to use new deep learning tools for protein design to create next-generation rotavirus vaccines that will provide robust protection to communities around the world. Our integrative vaccine design approach includes phylogenetic analyses, structure prediction, antigen design, and nanoparticle immunogen design. We are also establishing collaborations with leading rotavirus research groups to refine our design concepts and evaluate our vaccine candidates. Once we have selected lead vaccine candidates, we intend to leverage the translational infrastructure of the Institute for Protein Design and our industry partners to advance the vaccine to its ultimate goal: public health benefit.
We seek to expand the team that designs, biochemically characterizes, and immunologically evaluates these constructs. We’re looking for late-stage PhD students, recent PhD graduates, or current postdocs with expertise in the virology, molecular biology, and structural biology of rotaviruses to design and characterize next-generation rotavirus vaccine candidates. Successful candidates will have a PhD in virology, molecular biology, structural biology, immunology, or related fields; expertise in rotavirus or other reoviruses; and interest in using computational protein design to design next-generation rotavirus antigens and vaccines.
In this position you will:
- Conduct research to computationally design and experimentally characterize novel biomolecules.
- Mentor graduate and undergraduate students
- Participate in regular lab meetings
- Publish results in scientific journals
- Present research results to peers, including at conferences
- Participate in professional development activities. including DEI efforts.