Scripps Staff Scientist - Martins Lab

Job Description :

The Martins lab at The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology is looking for a Staff Scientist. Our research program is focused on developing a “one-shot” functional cure for HIV / AIDS. To that end, we are leveraging the latest advances in gene therapy to engineer long-lived host cells to continuously produce HIV-1 IgG therapeutics in vivo at levels sufficient to prevent viral replication in the absence of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Using nonhuman primates as a preclinical model of HIV / AIDS, we have shown that a single dose of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors at birth can result in stable expression of a HIV-1 broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb) in plasma for years without redosing. The systemic HIV-1 immunity achieved by this strategy could block acquisition of simian-HIV infection (SHIV) in mucosal challenge models that mimic HIV transmission through breastfeeding and sexual intercourse. Additionally, ongoing studies in our group show that AAV-vectored delivery of HIV-1 IgG biologics can also prevent virus rebound in SHIV-infected infant and adult rhesus macaques following ART interruption. Despite the promise of these results, AAV-expressed bNAbs often induce host immune responses that restrict bNAb expression and lead to treatment failure. Although these anti-drug antibody (ADA) responses are rarely observed in newborn macaques, a large fraction of AAV / bNAb-treated adult monkeys (and humans too!) develop immune responses that interfere with the half-life or biological activity of the delivered molecules. Thus, a main focus of our lab is to understand why gene therapy with AAV / bNAb vectors induces ADAs in some animals, but not in others, in hopes devising strategies for suppressing these unwanted host immune responses.

• Project Management (meetings, bookkeeping, purchasing of reagents and supplies, etc.)
• Grant / Manuscript writing
• Cloning, cell culture, ELISAs, protein expression and purification, and data analysis and interpretation

Expected Salary :

Commensurate with experience.

Required Qualifications :

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced scientist who will thrive in a dynamic, highly collaborative environment. Applicants should have the following :

Preferred :

Prior experience in some of the following areas / techniques is preferred :