Post Doctoral Fellow

University of Maryland • Baltimore, MD

5d • Onsite

About The Position

The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) is seeking a motivated Postdoctoral Fellow for the Kappe Lab. The Kappe laboratory focuses on developing genetically attenuated malaria parasites (GAPs) and whole-sporozoite malaria vaccines to induce durable protective immunity. Research combines immunology, parasite biology, and translational vaccine development to understand liver-stage malaria parasite interactions with the immune system, identify protective immune mechanisms and novel antigen targets, and define immune correlates of protection. Ongoing projects include basic immunology, systems biology, controlled human malaria infection (CHMI) studies, and clinical malaria vaccine development. This position offers an opportunity to join a collaborative, multidisciplinary research program with scientific mentorship and career development.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Immunology, Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, Parasitology, or a closely related discipline.
• Strong background in cellular and molecular immunology, with demonstrated expertise in adaptive and/or innate immune responses.
• Hands-on experience with immunological techniques, including multiparameter flow cytometry, immune cell isolation, cell culture, and functional immune assays.
• Experience working with infectious disease models and/or animal models of infection and vaccination.
• Demonstrated ability to independently design, execute, troubleshoot, and interpret complex experiments.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills with meticulous attention to detail.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including a record of scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary research environment.

Nice To Haves

• Ph.D. in Immunology
• Experience working with malaria parasites or other infectious disease models.
• Proficiency in FlowJo, R, and/or RStudio for high-dimensional flow cytometry data analysis and visualization.
• Experience with high-parameter spectral flow cytometry and/or mass cytometry (CyTOF).
• Experience with single-cell RNA sequencing, T-cell receptor repertoire analysis, or other systems immunology approaches.
• Familiarity with bioinformatics workflows, statistical analysis, and multi-omics data integration.
• Experience with computational immunology or advanced biological data visualization.
• Interest in translational vaccine research and collaborative multidisciplinary science.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and execute independent and collaborative research projects investigating immune mechanisms underlying malaria infection and vaccine-induced protection.
• Perform advanced immunological experiments, including multiparameter flow cytometry, cell sorting, ELISA, ELISpot, intracellular cytokine staining, immune cell culture, cytotoxicity assays, and other functional immune assays.
• Apply and interpret high-dimensional immune profiling approaches, including spectral flow cytometry, mass cytometry (CyTOF), single-cell RNA sequencing, and T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire analyses.
• Analyze complex immunological datasets using FlowJo, R, RStudio, and other statistical or bioinformatics tools to identify immune correlates of protection and mechanisms of vaccine-induced immunity.
• Investigate host-parasite interactions during liver-stage malaria infection using in vitro and in vivo experimental models.
• Contribute to studies evaluating immune responses induced by genetically attenuated parasite (GAP) vaccines, whole-sporozoite vaccines, and controlled human malaria infection (CHMI) studies.
• Design, optimize, troubleshoot, and document experimental protocols while maintaining accurate laboratory records and ensuring scientific rigor and reproducibility.
• Prepare manuscripts for publication, scientific presentations, fellowship applications, and contribute to grant proposals.
• Mentor graduate students, research technicians, and undergraduate trainees while fostering a collaborative and inclusive research environment.
• Collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams across immunology, molecular parasitology, bioinformatics, systems biology, and clinical research.
• Present research findings at laboratory meetings, institutional seminars, and national and international scientific conferences.
• Maintain compliance with institutional biosafety, animal care, laboratory safety, and research regulations.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree