Careers at NIBRT

The Company

The National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) is a global centre of excellence for training and research in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. NIBRT is located in a world class facility in Dublin, Ireland. This facility is purpose built to closely replicate a modern bioprocessing plant with state-of the art equipment and enables NIBRT to offer the highest quality training and research solutions.

NIBRT's mission is to support the growth and development of all aspects of the biopharmaceutical industry in Ireland by becoming the global leader in biopharmaceutical manufacturing research, education and training. This mission will be achieved by:

• Performing high impact, world class, industry aligned research in all aspects of bioprocessing, biopharmaceutical manufacturing, therapeutic protein characterisation, compliance and regulation.
• Designing, developing and delivering best-in-class education and training solutions across all levels to national and international students and workforces.

NIBRT actively collaborates with Irish, European and International universities and higher education institutions on research programs funded through the receipt of research awards from both national and European funding agencies.  We interact with numerous industrial clients through its training and research offerings.  For further information check out: www.nibrt.ie

Project Overview

There is very significant interest in Gene Therapy approaches to disease treatment currently. Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapies represent an exciting new wave of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) that are being generated for the treatment of ailments caused by a defective gene within certain patient populations. AAV based gene therapy is used to deliver a correctly functioning copy of the gene to the patient. Very promising results have been reported in a number of genetic diseases including haemophilia and ocular degeneration.

However, current yields of AAV from the manufacturing process mean that supplying patients with the required quantities of medicine will be challenging.

This project – a collaboration between NIBRT and Allergan Biologics – will address the following challenges in AAV production:

• To optimise a cell culture process for generation of infectious AAV particles of various serotypes
• To establish vectors and transfection/transduction conditions to minimise incorrect packaging events
• To investigate sensitive analytical methods for the characterisation of the resulting AAV particles that enable differentiation between full and empty AAV capsids

The collaboration between NIBRT and Allergan Biologics will comprise two Research Fellows and two Postdoctoral Scientists to address these areas of interest – this vacancy is for a Research Fellow Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry.

Research Fellow Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry (full time, temporary (24 months)

Role

Applications are sought from experienced and motivated scientists to investigate the use of native high-resolution mass spectrometry and native LC-MS for the characterisation of AAV product related impurities. The successful candidate will develop and apply native MS and native LC-MS methods for the characterisation of fully, partially full and empty AAV particles to support the molecular biology and bioproduction aspects of the project. The successful candidate will have experience with the use of high resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometry for the characterisation of proteins, protein complexes or viruses under native conditions. The successful candidate will also have experience in the development and application of liquid phase separation strategies for profiling the heterogeneity of these biomolecules, ideally with hyphenation to high resolution mass spectrometry. The Research Fellow will be responsible for planning lab activities in conjunction with the PI, executing the experiments, managing the activities of a postdoctoral scientist and reporting on project outcomes to the PIs and industry collaborators.

The successful candidate will have the following essential qualifications and experience:

• PhD in Analytical Chemistry, Bioanalytical Chemistry, Structural Biology or closely-related discipline
• Minimum 5 years experience characterising proteins, protein complexes or viral particles using mass spectrometry, ideally native mass spectrometry
• Expert knowledge and experience liquid chromatography method development for the separation of proteins, protein complexes or viral particles
• Proven experience in the analysis of native mass spectrometry data using appropriate software tools
• A proven ability to work within a team focused on different elements of a project
• Evidence of excellent communications skills – report writing, conference presentations, senior author on scientific publications

The successful candidate will have the following desirable qualifications and experience:

• Experience working on industry-focused projects with tight deadlines
• Knowledge and experience of other protein/virus analytical techniques
• Experience managing other scientists in order to meet project deliverables
• Experience with molecular modelling and protein structural bioinformatics tools

Enquiries: Dr. Jonathan Bones; email or call Jonathan jonathan.bones@nibrt.ie 01/2158100.

How To Apply: please email your CV, cover letter and the names and contact details of two referees in a combined PDF document to careers@nibrt.ie.  Please include ‘Your Name, the position(s) you are applying for’ in the subject line. Initial indicataive closing date for receipt of applications is 21^st February 2020 .

Applicants must be eligible to work in Ireland and hold an up-to-date relevant Visa entitling them to work in Ireland immediately.

From the point at which we receive your application, we will need to maintain and process data about you for the purposes of assessing and communicating a recruitment decision. Such data may be retained for 18 months following completion of a recruitment competition.

.