Dept Number/Name: 0-6123-000 / Dept Of Internal Medicine

College Division: USF Health-Morsani College of Medicine

Salary Plan: Faculty

Job Code/Title: 9180 / Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Hiring Salary/Salary Range: $48,000 - $58,000

Position Summary:

The Morsani College of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease & International Medicine, invites applications for Postdoctoral Scholar for Research Positions to join Raj Lab and the robust Malaria Research Program at the University of South Florida. Dr. Raj's laboratory develops and applies high-throughput tools and technologies for malaria research to identify new antigens in Plasmodium falciparum. One area of focus is identifying and characterizing antibodies detected in human plasma from malaria-endemic regions of the world. There are now two openings for early-stage postdoctoral associate positions in Dr. Raj's Lab. The Lab is located at the USF Research Park on the main campus in Tampa. There are opportunities for collaboration within the Department of internal medicine, Global Health, and throughout the University of South Florida, including the Moffitt cancer institute. A strong emphasis is placed on career development, participation in national meetings, communication skills, grant and manuscript writing, interdisciplinary research, and implications of the basic research for vaccine development against falciparum malaria.

Faculty mentors are committed to the career development of trainees. Postdoctoral Fellows of outstanding caliber, who are self-motivated and independently driven, would be joining a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary training environment.

Salary will be competitive with entry-level postdoctoral work, with travel support available to attend national and international meetings.

This is a project-dependent position and appointment at 100% effort. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled or the search is closed.

Responsibilities:

Identify and characterize vaccine targets during the Plasmodium erythrocyte stages of the parasite. Studies will focus on vaccine development against P. falciparum malaria using in vitro assays and in vivo parasite challenge experiments in murine models.

Applying genomics, proteomics, high-resolution molecular imaging, and animal models to evaluate potential vaccine targets

Training lab techs or any other lab members.

Writing manuscripts for peer review journals and experience in grant writing is a plus.

Qualifications:

Minimum:

The ideal candidate will have a Ph.D. terminal degree from an accredited institution in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Microbiology, or related subjects. Experience with murine models and polyclonal antibody production. Experience with mouse organ harvest, isolation of blood & serum, dissection & isolation of splenocytes is a plus. Must meet university criteria for appointment to the rank of Postdoctoral Fellow.

Preferred:

Evidence of publication record in infectious diseases, experience performing lab-based experiments using unicellular eukaryotic parasites, experience working with in vitro and in vivo cultures of Plasmodia parasites.

Special Skills/training:

Outstanding communication skills to ensure good interactions across multiple research teams.