Director Virology Research

AstraZeneca - Gaithersburg, MD

Full-time - Senior

Gaithersburg, MD

Chemical Manufacturing

About the position

Join us at AstraZeneca where you'll have the opportunity to make a difference in people's lives every day. As Director in the Virology Research group within Early Vaccines & Immune Therapies R&D (Early V&I) in Gaithersburg, MD, you'll play a pivotal role in channeling our scientific capabilities to make a positive impact on patients' lives. We are consistently pushing the boundaries of science to deliver life-changing medicines to patients. The Director will be a key member of a growing, dynamic team focused on developing next-generation vaccines and antibody therapeutics through the early drug discovery process through investigational new drug (IND) enabling activities. In this role you will lead a research team responsible for in vitro and in vivo experiments supporting the design, and evaluation of existing and novel vaccines and antibody therapeutics against viral pathogens. You will contribute to the development of novel ideas in the target identification, antigen design, vaccine vector, and vaccine technology spaces. You will work collaboratively across the organization to drive projects towards successful completion, develop technical summaries, protocols, and quantitative analyses, and be responsible for the day-to-day organization of different project-related components along with the publishing of discoveries in high quality, peer-reviewed journals and support of IND filing.

Responsibilities

• Lead a research team responsible for in vitro and in vivo experiments supporting the design and evaluation of vaccines and antibody therapeutics against viral pathogens.
• Contribute to the development of novel ideas in target identification, antigen design, vaccine vector, and vaccine technology.
• Collaborate across the organization to drive projects towards successful completion.
• Develop technical summaries, protocols, and quantitative analyses for research projects.
• Organize day-to-day project-related components and ensure timely progress.
• Publish discoveries in high-quality, peer-reviewed journals and support IND filing.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Virology, Molecular Biology, or related scientific field with 10+ years of experience.
• Advanced knowledge of the culture and characterization of multiple viruses including influenza, RSV, hMPV, PIV, HBV, CMV, etc.
• Experience developing, implementing, and validating viral culture and viral neutralization assays.
• Extensive hands-on experience working with RNA and/or DNA viruses and implementing reverse genetics systems.
• Familiarity with in vivo models to evaluate viral pathogenesis.
• Demonstrated track record of research project leadership.
• Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Experience preparing written scientific reports (e.g., manuscripts) and oral presentations (e.g., slides, posters).
• Ability to multitask and prioritize numerous projects.
• Managerial experience of 5+ persons.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with basic laboratory automation.
• Experience with laboratory information management systems and electronic laboratory notebooks.