Postdoctoral Fellow – Antibody Engineering & Biophysics

AEOP Internships and Fellowships; Silver Spring (MD); On-site; USD 74,000 - 79,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance stipend

Job summary

AEOP Internships and Fellowships seeks a Postdoctoral Fellow to conduct proof-of-concept studies in developing next-generation prophylactics. The role bridges computational design with wet-lab expression, purification, and biophysical characterization of antibodies, scFvs, and BS-scFvs at the Walter Reed U.S. Army Institute of Research.

The successful candidate will have a Ph.D. in a related field, experience in recombinant expression and protein purification, and proficiency with analytical

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology, Bioengineering, or a related discipline.
• Experience in recombinant protein expression in mammalian and bacterial systems, and purification (IMAC, SEC, IEX).
• Familiarity with structural/biophysical characterization techniques.
• Excellent communication, meticulous record-keeping, and ability to work independently in a multidisciplinary team.

Responsibilities

• Computational Antibody & Protein Design using AI platforms (e.g., AlphaFold3, RFdiffusion, Rosetta).
• Recombinant protein expression and purification in mammalian and bacterial systems.
• Biophysical and biochemical characterization including ELISA and Biolayer Interferometry.
• Project management, collaboration, and reporting with project sponsor.

Skills

Excellent communication

Meticulous record-keeping

Independent work

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Education

Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology, Bioengineering, or related

Tools

IMAC

SEC

IEX

HPLC

Job description

Project Description:

We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled Postdoctoral Fellow to conduct proof-of-concept studies in developing next-generation prophylactics. The project will involve design, expression, and characterization of antibodies, single chain variable fragments (scFvs) and bispecific-scFvs (BS-scFvs)—targeting key vaccine candidates. The successful candidate will bridge computational protein design with hands-on wet-lab expression, purification, and biophysical characterization. This role offers an extraordinary opportunity at the intersection of structural biology, AI, and translational vaccinology within a highly collaborative research network. This specific opportunity is based at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command - Walter Reed U.S. Army Institute of Research. It is a paid research appointment and not a government position.

Key Responsibilities

• Computational Antibody & Protein Design: Use machine-learning/AI platforms including AlphaFold3, RFdiffusion, ThermoMPNN, Rosetta, PROSS, PRoscan, PyMOL.


• Recombinant Protein Expression & Purification: Express proteins in mammalian expression system, Escherichia coli or alternative expression hosts. Perform protein purification using chromatography platforms (FPLC, affinity, size-exclusion chromatography).


• Biophysical & Biochemical Characterization: Evaluate the purity, yield, and structural integrity of protein molecules, conduct ELISA, Biolayer Interferometry to benchmark candidate molecules.


• Project Management, Collaboration & Reporting: Analyze, interpret, and integrate biochemical/biophysical datasets with downstream biological assay results generated by partners. Draft technical updates and final comprehensive reports for the project sponsor.

Candidate Requirements:

• US Citizenship or Permanent Residency is required.


• Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology, Bioengineering, or a closely related scientific discipline.


• Expertise in recombinant protein expression mammalian and bacterial systems. Extensive experience in protein purification (IMAC, SEC, IEX) and quality control (SDS-PAGE, Western blot, HPLC). Demonstrated familiarity with structural and biophysical characterization techniques.


• Excellent communication, meticulous record-keeping, and the ability to work independently within a multidisciplinary, collaborative team environment.

Application Requirements:

• Hiring committee is looking for candidates that can start as soon as possible.

Compensation:

$74,000-79,000 annually, pending qualifications. Health insurance stipend will all be provided.

Additional information about AEOP Internships and Fellowships can be found at: https://aeopinternships-fellowships.org