Postdoctoral Fellow 2025: AI-Informed Bioengineered Models for Predicting Human Response to mRNA Nanomedicines and Vaccines

AstraZeneca • Gaithersburg, MD

1d • $99,900 - $107,500 • Onsite

About The Position

In this exciting Postdoctoral Fellow position, you will work to develop a cutting-edge AI-informed bioengineered model for predicting human responses to genetic (e.g. mRNA) nanomedicine/vaccine candidates. Environment: This project is supported by the Vaccine and Regenerative Medicine Drug Product Team within Biopharmaceutical Development Organization. The team’s purpose is to advance the development of mRNA drug products and processes through new technologies, including generation and screening of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), to deliver life-changing vaccines and medicines to patients. This purpose is realized through convergence of a wide range of scientific subject areas including material sciences, bioengineering, and advanced data analytics and cross-disciplinary collaborations with multiple functions across AstraZeneca, including therapy Areas, Biologics Engineering and Data Science & Modeling. Mentoring and team support: You will be mentored and guided by Beata Chertok, a former academic professor (University of Michigan) and current Associate Principal Scientist/Team Lead in the Delivery of Intracellular Biologics at AstraZeneca – an inspiring leader in mRNA nanomedicines and a scientific authority in nanoengineering, targeted gene delivery and experimental modeling of nanomaterials behavior within biological systems. In addition, you will also receive academic co-mentorship from John Tsang, Professor of Immunobiology and Biomedical Engineering at Yale University – an extraordinary scientific authority in computational modeling of the immune system and a leader with vision in Human Systems Immunology. Furthermore, you will be supported by our dynamic cross-functional team bridging wealth of expertise and experiences across multiple scientific domains, including data science, immunology, omics and bioinformatics. Overview You will use your biomaterials/tissue engineering expertise to develop a novel micro-physiological model that implements a unique bio mimetic path for rapid benchmarking of human responses to genetic vaccines and therapeutics. You will also contribute to establishing methodologies for collection and analysis of relevant model readouts and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for advanced data analytics. Contribution to the development of AI tools is optional and may be considered based on your specific interests and prior computational experience. Strong support will be provided by our cross-functional team in all auxiliary project domains, including data science, immunology, omics and bioinformatics.

Requirements

• PhD in Bioengineering/Chemical Engineering or related quantitative field with specialization in biomaterials/tissue engineering (academic requirements for PhD completion must be finalized prior to start date)
• Maximum of 4 years of prior postdoctoral research experience
• Minimum of 4 years of experience in developing and characterizing cell/biomaterial-based micro-physiological/microfluidic in vitro models.
• Validated expertise in vitro 2D and 3D cell culture/cell reprogramming, including working with distinct primary cell types and proficiency in bio-analysis techniques such as Flow Cytometry, Confocal Microscopy, PCR, and multiplex ELISA.
• Proven experience in developing and analysing biomaterial-based scaffolds for tissue engineering.
• Proficiency in Python or a comparable programming language with experience in data handling (e.g., databases) and data visualization, coupled with strong proficiency in statistical analyses and a basic understanding or interest in AI/ML.
• Proven ability to independently drive research projects, evidenced by at least 1 first/co-first author publications.

Nice To Haves

• Strong knowledge of immunobiology and prior experience with experimental immune-phenotyping techniques using omics approaches
• Hands-on experience with AI/ML techniques including high-dimensional data analytics (e.g. dimensionality reduction, clustering) and data modeling
• Excellent written and oral communication
• Strong planning, organizational and time management skills

Responsibilities

• Drive the project under the supervision of lead AstraZeneca’s mentor and the academic co-mentor and in collaboration with cross-functional AstraZeneca team
• Research, design and implement innovative ways related to micro-physiological model development.
• Contribute to collection and analysis of omics readouts and applications of AI tools for establishing human-predictive capabilities
• Plan, write and publish high-quality scientific papers, and present at scientific meetings

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees