Research Scientist

Research Scientist

Research Scientist, Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH. Design experiments and protocols for conducting research to develop vaccines for two important respiratory viruses : RSV and SARS-CoV-2. Lead the project to develop a novel live attenuated respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine that will be delivered intranasally to protect children between 1 and 5 years and adults over 60 from severe RSV disease. Make cDNA clones containing the genes for critical immunogenic viral proteins and use them to produce native viral proteins or modified versions that are optimal targets for the protective immune response. Produce and test attenuating mutations in RSV that weaken its ability to replicate and cause disease but enhance its immunogenicity. Evaluate the immune response induced by these vaccines and quantifying its ability to prevent infection of primary human airway cell cultures and small animal models. From the results of studies, help to develop hypotheses for further improvements in these vaccines, prepare technical abstracts, scientific articles for review and publication in top virology journals, and presentations to colleagues in other labs and at virological meetings. Min. req incl : Ph.D. in Microbiology, Virology, Biomedical Sciences, plus 5 years of experience in molecular biology, cell biology, and virology; 5 years of research experience identifying important research questions, developing productive approaches, designing and performing experiments, and interpreting the results; 5 years of experience researching RSV and SARS-Cov-2; 3 years of experience assembling cDNA clones and using them to rescue live attenuated RSV vaccine candidate viruses; and 3 years of experience producing and purifying viral proteins for use in experimental immunizations and in the detection of antibodies specific for the RSV glycoproteins.