Postdoc Fellow, Vaccine Preclinical Development (Experimental Medicine)

About the role

MSD is recruiting a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for its Vaccine Preclinical Development group at its West Point, Pennsylvania site. The fellow joins the Research Laboratories Postdoctoral Research Fellow Program, which offers an academic focus in a commercial environment, and works in a collaborative, interdisciplinary setting with established experimental and computational capabilities. The project investigates the biology of latent herpesvirus reservoirs in the context of immune dysregulation and disease-associated phenotypes.

Key responsibilities

• Lead independent and collaborative research on the molecular characterization and computational analysis of primary samples and tissues using high-dimensional single-cell and systems immunology approaches.
• Develop and implement experimental strategies to enrich and/or characterize immune cells from peripheral blood.
• Perform and optimize single-cell and high-dimensional immunology assays.
• Contribute to computational frameworks leading to biomarker discovery.
• Present findings at internal and external scientific meetings and help prepare manuscripts for publication.
• Collaborate across multidisciplinary teams in immunology, virology and translational research.

Required profile

• Currently holds a PhD, or will receive one no later than spring 2027.
• PhD in Immunology, Virology, Systems Biology, Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Molecular Biology or a related field.
• No more than 3 years of previous postdoctoral experience.
• Expertise in immunology, virology, host-pathogen biology or related fields.

Required skills

• Single-cell transcriptomics (e.g. Flex Apex, CITE-seq, spatial transcriptomics).
• End-to-end computational analysis of complex biological datasets, with exposure to single-cell or other omics data.
• Flow cytometry.
• Strong experimental design, data interpretation and troubleshooting.
• Scientific writing, presentation and communication skills.

Preferred experience

• Herpesvirus biology and lymphocyte responses to vaccination or infection.
• TCR/BCR repertoire sequencing and analysis.
• Novel vaccine adjuvants and/or vaccine platforms.
• BSL-2 level viral pathogens.
• Biomarker development and translational analysis of clinical cohort datasets.

What we offer

• Salary range of $82,000-$92,000, with eligibility for an annual bonus and long-term incentives where applicable.
• Medical, dental, vision and other insurance benefits for employee and family, retirement benefits including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation and compassionate and sick days.