FDA Fellowship: Codon Optimization in Gene Therapy (AAV)

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education; White Oak (MD); On-site; USD 402,000 - 536,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) offers an ORISE research opportunity at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) in White Oak, Maryland. The fellow will join projects investigating synonymous codon substitutions and codon optimization in therapeutic biologics.

Learning objectives include molecular biology techniques, proteomics workflows, and computational codon usage analyses. The appointment is initially one year, full-time, with a monthly stipend commensurate with

Qualifications

• Pursuing or holding a master’s or doctoral degree in related life/health/medical sciences.
• Discipline in chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, or life/health sciences.
• Willing to work with antibodies, recombinant proteins and gene therapy.
• Knowledge of biology/biochemistry fundamentals.

Responsibilities

• Join research on synonymous codon substitutions and codon optimization in therapeutic biologics.
• Study how codon optimization and variants affect gene expression, RNA structure, protein folding, and immunogenicity.
• Work with model systems including Factor VIII, IX, and MDTCS across multiple delivery platforms.
• Apply techniques such as ribosome profiling, proteomics, glycoproteomics, mass spectrometry, and structural assays.
• Perform computational analysis of codon usage metrics (e.g., CAI) and integrate with experimental data.

Skills

Biology basics

Codon optimization

Cell culture

Protein purification

Western blots

Antibodies work

Recombinant proteins

Gene therapy

Education

Master's or Doctoral degree in Chemistry/Biochemistry/Life Sciences

Job description

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) offers an ORISE research opportunity at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) in White Oak, Maryland. The fellow will join projects investigating synonymous codon substitutions and codon optimization in therapeutic biologics.

Learning objectives include molecular biology techniques, proteomics workflows, and computational codon usage analyses. The appointment is initially one year, full-time, with a monthly stipend commensurate with