Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation

The Opportunity

• Do you have a PhD in immunology, molecular biology, or infectious disease?
• Contribute to the Immune Resilience Future Science Platform
• Join CSIRO – Australia’s leading scientific research organisation!

CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships provide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years of relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.

This position will form part of the Immune Resilience Future Science Platform (FSP). The Immune Resilience FSP aims to harness the fundamental understanding of the immune system to develop novel strategies and platforms that will build resilience in animals to combat disease and parasite challenges.

CSIRO Health and Biosecurity has successfully developed 3D ex vivo models of the human respiratory tract and intestinal tract for application in various science domains, including infectious disease. We now seek to increase the complexity of these models to include resident immune cells. The successful candidate will join a strong multidisciplinary team within the Molecular Diagnostics Solutions team, to apply ex vivo model systems to improve our understanding of human health.

Your duties will include:

• Isolating immune cells from human derived biological samples, focusing on the isolation of viable T cells and characterisation of these
• Developing methods to co-culture these immune cells with our already established intestinal and/or respiratory ex vivo models 
• Performing lab based experimental work to validate these models
• Undertaking epigenetic studies to assess T cell status and function following challenge with a model pathogen
• Carrying out innovative, impactful research of strategic importance to CSIRO that will, where possible, lead to novel and important scientific outcomes.  

Location: Sydney NSW, or Adelaide, SA

Salary: AU$89k - AU$98k plus up to 15.4% superannuation

Tenure: Specified term of 3 years

Reference: 88366

To be considered you will need:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as such as immunology, cellular and molecular biology, infectious disease, or similar. Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (full-time equivalent) of postdoctoral research experience.
• Demonstrated understanding of host response to pathogens, in particular the role of the innate immune system.
• Demonstrated experience using flow cytometry for sorting of immune cells and analysis of corresponding data, and culturing of these cells.
• Demonstrated experience in tissue or cell culture, or organoid culture, including cell-based assays to measure physiologically relevant endpoints in a PC2 lab environment.
• Experience with genomics analysis pipelines and tools (epigenomics e.g., WGBS, ATAC-seq preferred). 

For full details about this role please view the Position Description

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to Australian/New Zealand Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents or Australian temporary residents currently residing in Australia. Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

To enter a CSIRO site, CSIRO will require you to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 (or show a valid medical exemption from vaccination). If you are unable to meet this requirement, then you must return a negative result on a Rapid Antigen Test (within 48 hours prior to attending site) and wear a face mask whilst on the CSIRO site. These requirements apply if you are attending a CSIRO site as part of a recruitment process.

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

11 October 2022 11:00pm AEDT