Research Scientist | Paust Lab | Immunology

Research Scientist| Immunology

Paust Lab

Location: Farmington, CT

Our laboratory is seeking a Research Scientist to lead two complementary, high-impact research programs in influenza biology and antibody therapeutics. In the first program, you will uncover the fundamental mechanisms that dictate whether the host successfully clears influenza virus or experiences immune-mediated lung injury, leveraging in vivo mouse models and analyses of human lung tissue. In the second, you will apply and extend our deep expertise in Fc-receptor biology to engineer and evaluate broadly protective antibody therapies that resist viral escape for commercialization.

The Research Scientist will serve as a senior scientific leader within a multidisciplinary team, providing strategic and technical oversight for key components of our influenza immunology and antibody-therapeutic programs. As a seasoned expert in antibody therapeutics development, complex immunological assays, and animal models, you will help drive hypothesis-driven mechanistic studies, mentor junior staff, and preserve institutional knowledge of advanced technologies crucial to our mission.

Key Responsibilities

• Project Leadership & Experimental Design
  • Lead and coordinate in vivo studies in mouse models of influenza infection (including viral challenge, antibody treatment, immune response assessment and pathophysiological readouts).
  • Design and execute mechanistic assays to probe Fc-receptor-mediated activation of lung innate immune cells using cell lines, murine lung cells, and human ex vivo lung tissue slices.
• Technical Expertise & Institutional Memory
  • Serve as the lab's authority on advanced immunological and virological techniques (e.g., pre-clinical antibody therapeutics development, flow cytometry panels for FcR expression and immune function, in vitro functional assays, virus quantification from lung tissue, lung immunohistochemistry, histopathology).
  • Develop and maintain SOPs for complex assays, ensuring reproducibility and compliance with institutional guidelines.
• Data Analysis & Scientific Communication
  • Analyze and interpret experimental results, troubleshoot unexpected outcomes, and refine protocols.
  • Present findings at lab meetings, departmental seminars, and external conferences; significantly contribute to manuscript and grant writing.
• Collaboration & Mentorship
  • Act as senior support for faculty investigator, facilitating cross-disciplinary collaborations with structural biologists, virologists, clinical researchers, and industry partners.
  • Mentor and train junior scientists and technicians in animal work, biosafety procedures, and immunological assays.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Immunology, Microbiology, Infectious Disease, or a related field, plus 5years postdoctoral or industry experience in infectious disease and antibody immunotherapy research in a BSL-2 laboratory setting.
• Proven track record of leading and publishing mechanistic in vivo studies in infectious disease mouse models and therapeutics development.
• Deep understanding of antibody engineering, and innate immune cell function.
• Hands-on expertise in:
  • Animal models of respiratory infection (mouse influenza challenge, aerosol/intranasal delivery)
  • Tissue culture of primary murine and human cells and their phenotyping by multiparameter flow cytometry
  • Fc-receptor based effector function assays (complement activation, antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity, phagocytosis assays, ELISA, binding assays)
  • Molecular biology techniques (plaque assay, PCR, qPCR, CRISPR, lentiviral work)
  • Histology, immunofluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry
• Strong data-analysis skills (e.g., FlowJo, Prism, R/Python for immunological datasets).
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; experience drafting peer-reviewed manuscripts and grant proposals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior mentoring experience and a collaborative leadership style.

About JAX:

The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution with a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center and nearly 3,000 employees in locations across the United States (Maine, Connecticut, California),Japan andChina. Its mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health.

Founded in 1929, JAX applies over nine decades of expertise in genetics to increase understanding of human disease, advancing treatments and cures for cancer, neurological and immune disorders, diabetes, aging and heart disease. It models and interprets genomic complexity, integrates basic research with clinical application, educates current and future scientists, and provides critical data, tools and services to the global biomedical community. For more information, please visitwww.jax.org.

EEO Statement:

The Jackson Laboratory provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment in all job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, gender, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, national origin, veteran status, and other classifications protected by applicable state and local non-discrimination laws.