About the job

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

Location: Gaithersburg, MD

Competitive Salary, Bonus & Benefits Package

Do you have expertise in bioengineered micro-physiological models, interest in artificial intelligence and passion for advancing innovative modeling technologies to push the boundary in mRNA therapeutics and vaccines? Would you like to apply your knowledge to impact discovery and development of genetic medicines in a company that follows the science and turns ideas into life-changing medicines? Then join the Vaccine & Regenerative Medicines team of Biopharmaceutical Development at AstraZeneca and unlock the power of what science can do!

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-centered biopharmaceutical company focusing on discovering, developing, and commercializing prescription medicines for some of the world’s most serious diseases. But we are more than a global leading pharmaceutical company. At AstraZeneca, we're dedicated to being a Great Place to Work and empowering employees to push the boundaries of science and fuel their entrepreneurial spirit.

About Our Postdoc Program

Bring your expertise, apply your knowledge, follow the science, and make a difference. AstraZeneca’s Postdoc Program is for self-motivated individuals looking to deliver exciting projects in an encouraging, engaging, and innovative environment. You'll work with an experienced AstraZeneca mentor, a premier academic co-mentor and a multidisciplinary scientific team assembled to support you and your project. Our postdocs are respected as specialists, encouraged to speak up, and supported to share their research at conferences, publish papers and achieve their career goals.

Through engagement in this 2-year program, you will have the opportunity to boost your career while contributing to making a difference to the lives of our patients!

About the Opportunity

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.

About the role

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.

Key Duties & 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 we are looking for

Essential 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.

Desirable Qualifications

• 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

Why pursue this opportunity?

This project and our broader environment offers an exciting combination of learning opportunities to jumpstart your exciting career in either industry or academia.

How?

You will work at the interdisciplinary frontier of emerging technologies in micro-physiological models, systems immunology and AI. You will have access to our state-of-the art research facilities (e.g. FACS, advanced microscopy imaging and omics core facilities, biomaterial/nanoparticle characterization suits and parallel computing infrastructure) and work closely with and learn from a group of seasoned expert scientists in our dynamic cross-functional team. Your work will have the potential to reach transformative impact and yield high-impact publications, as it addresses a critical gap in the contemporaneous path for discovery/development of genetic nano medicines and vaccines. While immersing yourself in innovative science on par with world-class academic institutions, you will also gain insight into drug/vaccine development process in industry and learn how to demonstrate your skills and expertise for business-impactful innovation. Overall, this position will equip you with a unique combination of high-profile scientific competencies and insights into industry’s entrepreneurial culture and workflows, placing you in an excellent position to build a career of your dreams!

Req Open Date: April 15, 2025

Req Close Date: May 14, 2025

Stages of interview: Applicants are reviewed for fit/skills and invited to each step. You may not be invited to each step. (1) One-way video interview and (2)

Virtual Interview Panel with presentation.

To find out more go to: astrazeneca.com and https://careers.astrazeneca.com/bpd

We anticipate a high volume of applicants, so do not delay, applying today!

Compensation for this role, depending on years of research experience, is a minimum of US$96,000 up to Max of US$104,000 + short-term incentive. Some relocation supplements depend on distance and location at the employer's discretion.

Date Posted

Closing Date