PostDoctoral Researcher

NIBRT; Ireland; On-site; EUR 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

NIBRT invites applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher in Formulation Science focused on enhancing stability and deployability of a Lassa fever vaccine. The role engages with EU-funded consortia and cross-disciplinary partners to develop thermostable vaccine formulations and evaluate them through preclinical stages.

You will design and execute experiments, maintain rigorous data integrity, mentor junior researchers, and prepare reports for stakeholders.

Qualifications

• A Ph.D. in biopharmaceutics or a PhD in virology or a strictly relevant discipline.
• Minimum of 2 years of postdoctoral or industry experience with a strong track record in biopharmaceutical formulation of live vaccines.
• A track record in publishing previous research and/or have experience of working in a commercial environment.
• Proven competence and experience of carrying out research in the relevant research speciality. Relevant technical experience in biopharmaceutical analysis of complex products and ideally, of virus vaccines, related to thermostability. This includes pharmaceutical experience to monitor and understand the impact of formulations and processes on virus vaccine potency and degradation, using industry standard guidelines.
• Demonstrable achievements in delivering results.
• Ability to interact with stakeholders from a range of disciplines.
• An ability to work independently to a tight schedule
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Proven record of initiative and motivation.
• Excellent report writing and presentation skills.
• Capability of working effectively within a team to achieve results.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills.
• Virology experience
• Industry experience.
• Experience of working in EU-funded consortia.

Responsibilities

• Conduct a specified programme of research under the supervision and direction of a Principal Investigator/Project Leader to the highest standards of research integrity and health and safety.
• Assume a role in the design as well as the execution of this research.
• Maintain laboratory safety protocols, data integrity practices, and electronic notebook compliance.
• Carry out relevant administrative and management work associated with this research.
• Prepare and present relevant reports for external stakeholders.
• Provide day-to-day advice, support, mentoring, and assistance to early career researchers and research assistants in the research group.
• Collaborate with external partners to ensure efficient progress on the project.
• Develop experience in submitting grant proposals.
• Engage in the wider research and scholarly activities of the research group and NIBRT and contribute to its profile by participating in outreach and dissemination promotion activities.
• Engage in appropriate training and development opportunities to develop own transferable skills, career and reputation.
• Carry out any additional duties as may reasonably be required within the general scope and level of the post.

Skills

Research project management

Team collaboration

Data analysis

Scientific writing

Grant proposal experience

Independent work

Communication skills

EU-funded consortia experience

Education

PhD in biopharmaceutics or virology or relevant discipline

Job description

Organisation/Company NIBRT Research Field Other Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Positions Postdoc Positions Application Deadline 30 Nov 2026 - 17:00 (Europe/Dublin) Country Ireland Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Other EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Project Title: Formulation Innovation to Enhance Thermal Stability and Deployability of a Lassa Fever Vaccine

Vaccine deployment is severely constrained by the need for logistics including cold chain distribution. Infectious diseases remain a major threat to health and health security in the EU and globally and thus a proactive approach to the development of vaccines in preparedness for future infectious disease outbreaks is needed. One such threat is Lassa mammarenavirus, which remains a major epidemic threat in West Africa and a priority pathogen for global health security. Our partners have successfully developed a live recombinant virus vector Lassa vaccine to clinical testing. However, this vaccine currently requires ultra-cold chain storage with limited refrigerator stability. This creates challenges for broad deployment and storage, particularly for rapid use in an outbreak response and for routine preventive use in endemic settings in resource-limited regions.

In this Horizon-EU funded project, the consortium will advance this Lassa vaccine candidate toward a next-generation formulation optimized for epidemic deployment. Specifically, the partners will develop and eval-uate a thermostable formulation manufactured using scalable, production technologies and advance it through required preclinical testing and first in human clinical evaluation. Scientists in the Vaccine Immun-isation Technology and Access (VITAL) group in NIBRT will collaborate with the vaccine manufacturing part-ner to identify, develop and verify thermostabilising formulations and processes for this live virus vector vac-cine. We will focus on developing a liquid and a lyophilised vaccine form.

Key Responsibilities

The key responsibilities of the job include:

• Conduct a specified programme of research under the supervision and direction of a Principal Inves-tigator/Project Leader to the highest standards of research integrity and health and safety.
• Assume a role in the design as well as the execution of this research.
• Maintain laboratory safety protocols, data integrity practices, and electronic notebook compliance.
• Carry out relevant administrative and management work associated with this research.
• Prepare and present relevant reports for external stakeholders.
• Provide day-to-day advice, support, mentoring, and assistance to early career researchers and re-search assistants in the research group.
• Collaborate with external partners to ensure efficient progress on the project.
• Develop experience in submitting grant proposals.
• Engage in the wider research and scholarly activities of the research group and NIBRT and contribute to its profile by participating in outreach and dissemination promotion activities.
• Engage in appropriate training and development opportunities to develop own transferable skills, career and reputation.
• Carry out any additional duties as may reasonably be required within the general scope and level of the post.

Requirements

Research Field Other Education Level PhD or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

• A Ph.D. in biopharmaceutics or a PhD in virology or a strictly relevant discipline.
• Minimum of 2 years of postdoctoral or industry experience with a strong track record in biopharmaceutical formulation of live vaccines.
• A track record in publishing previous research and/or have experience of working in a commercial environment.
• Proven competence and experience of carrying out research in the relevant research speciality. Relevant technical experience in biopharmaceutical analysis of complex products and ideally, of virus vaccines, related to thermostability. This includes pharmaceutical experience to monitor and understand the impact of formulations and processes on virus vaccine potency and degradation, using industry standard guidelines.
• Demonstrable achievements in delivering results.
• Ability to interact with stakeholders from a range of disciplines.
• An ability to work independently to a tight schedule
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Proven record of initiative and motivation.
• Excellent report writing and presentation skills.
• Capability of working effectively within a team to achieve results.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills.
• Virology experience
• Industry experience.
• Experience of working in EU-funded consortia.