This postdoctoral position is available in the new laboratory of Dr. Alon Herschhorn at the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota. Our research group works on exciting directions to understand and target HIV-1 host interactions at the molecular and cellular levels. We use interdisciplinary approaches at the interface of synthetic and molecular virology, immunology and cell biology to gain new insights into complex biological processes, with the aim of translating these insights into novel therapies and vaccines to treat and prevent viral infections.
70% Research Primary duties and responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, studies of virus-host interactions using HIV-1 or SASR-CoV-2 as a system model.
The project involves developing novel viral immunogens and display systems, analyzing the antibody and cellular immune response to immunization, and studying HIV-1 and SASR-CoV-2 interactions with neutralizing and non-neutralizing antibodies using viral assays. The successful candidate will work in BSL2 and BSL2+ environment and build and use viral vectors, express and purify proteins, prepare RNA-based vaccines, test vaccine efficcay in animal models, and study the interactions of viruses with the immune system. The work also involves interaction with other lab member(s), participation in lab meeting, and oversee the work of undergraduate students.
30% Data analysis, presentations, and manuscript preparation alysis of experimental results.
The successful candidate will use different computer programs and statistical tests to analyze the immune response in animals. Analysis of flow cytometry results will be done using FlowJo or Cyflogic programs and involves analysis of fluorescence readouts, live/dead cells discrimination and multi color compensation. Development of research directions according to the main project aims and the ongoing experiments Preparation of figures and manuscripts based on the results Reading literature related to the research projects and developing collaborations with other research groups Preparation of data for presentations.