Early Career Postdoctoral Scientist at University of Nairobi

AD/6/97/24- ONE (1) POST

Overall Job Purpose

KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research (KAVI-ICR), University of Nairobi, is seeking to recruit a highly motivated early career postdoctoral scientist. The incumbent’s areas of research will entail translational immunology work to determine magnitude and quality of immune responses to vaccines and in natural infections.

DIRECTLY SUPERVISES:

• Research technicians, interns and students as assigned by the Principal Investigator

BUDGET AND RESOURCE RESPONSIBILITY: Budget allocated to the laboratory consumables and other expenses associated with the project.

Key Responsibilities:

• Assay development for determination of binding antibodies in clinical samples
• Assay development for determination of neutralizing antibodies in clinical samples
• Performance of established standardized immunological assays to analyse clinical samples
• Quality assurance/quality control
• Molecular biology procedures (PCR, sequencing and basic analyses)
• Cloning
• Protein expression and purification
• Technology transfer between partners and collaborators
• Training and supervision of technicians and interns
• Presentation of results to the group, programme and collaborators
• Preparation of proposals for grant applications
• Preparation of scientific manuscripts
• Any other responsibilities that may arise from time to time

QUALIFICATIONS

• PhD degree in any of the following fields: Immunology, Molecular Biology or related fields
• Proven track record in immunology and/or molecular biology laboratory research
• Detailed knowledge of the procedures relevant to the work will be an added advantage
• Relevant publications in peer-reviewed journals will be an added advantage

COMPETENCIES

• High level of English language competence appropriate for scientific journal article submissions
• Good communication skills
• Capable of interacting with people of different cultures
• Self-directed, highly motivated, adaptable and capable of adhering to important milestones

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT/CONDITIONS:

• Based at the KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research, Nairobi, Kenya but be flexible to travel to other partner or collaborating institutions
• Be available to work out of hours if necessary
• Exposure to materials considered infectious and/or biohazards