Acknowledgement of Country

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The Opportunity

• Do you have a PhD in microbiology, virology, biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology or a related field?
• Develop innovative approaches to design and test novel mRNA molecules to express antigens to impart protective immune response to an important livestock disease
• Join our team at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong for this 3 year postdoctoral role

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.

Despite the success of veterinary vaccines, globalisation has dramatically increased risks of disease outbreaks. For example, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has recently spread into Indonesia after more than 30 years of freedom posing a risk to the Australian livestock industry with impacts of up to $80 billion over a 10-year period.  In addition, new lineages of FMD are regularly detected in endemic areas necessitating updated vaccines. African swine fever and lumpy skin disease have spread globally and is now present in our neighbouring countries. The solution to current biosecurity threats requires a rapid, agile, and transformative response which traditional approaches fail to provide. There is a desperate need for innovative, state-of-the-art, quick to manufacture platforms for veterinary vaccines to help protect domestic and export markets and future-proof Australia from biosecurity ‘megashocks’. 

The CERC Fellow will be leading the novel application of mRNA vaccines for an important emergency animal disease that includes developing a pipeline with in silico approaches to antigen design, establish in vitro testing platforms and finally validating the approach in an animal model.  The project involves three CSIRO business units; Health and Biosecurity, Australian Animal Health Laboratory and CSIRO-Manufacturing. The CERC Fellow will therefore be exposed to experts with a diverse range of knowledge and expertise including virology, molecular biology, bioinformatics, infectious disease diagnosis and nanotechnology.

Your duties will include:

• Improving Australia’s preparedness for high impact emergency animal diseases by developing innovative approaches to design and test novel mRNA molecules to express antigens to impart protective immune response to an important livestock disease. 
• Exploring emerging approaches to improve mRNA stability and translation efficiency in an animal model.
• Using systems approaches to elucidate the protective immune responses in an animal model; improving mRNA design for increased protection against infection; and developing novel diagnostics tests that can be used to distinguish between infected and vaccinated animals.
• Managing laboratory workflow to plan and achieve the project objectives.

Location: Geelong, Victoria

Salary: AU$92k - AU$101k plus up to 15.4% superannuation

Tenure: Specified term of 3 years

Reference: 90896

To be considered you will need:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as microbiology, virology, biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology or a related field. Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (or full-time equivalent) of postdoctoral research experience.
• Evidence of technical and experimental experience in microbiology, virology, molecular biology, including immunology.
• Practical experience or an interest in infectious diseases.
• Experience working collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams.

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 and 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.

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

31 January 2023, 11:00pm AEDT