The Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI) was founded in 1970 through the initiative of the Norwegian and Swedish Save the Children organizations seconded by the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia. The Institute got its name from the Norwegian physician, Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, who first described the leprosy bacillus (Mycobacterium leprae). AHRI was reorganized by the decree of the Council of Minister’s Regulation No. 376/2016 as biomedical research, clinical trial, and research capacity building under the Federal Ministry of Health. AHRI, over its 50 years in service, is well known for its hub function for skill and technology transfer and partnership embracing research agendas with a direct impact on the development and transformation of the population in Ethiopia and beyond.

At AHRI, we are currently seeking a scientific technical leader who will be working in the discovery and development of new health technologies, including vaccines, diagnostics, and drugs for infectious diseases prevalent in developing countries, including Ethiopia. The candidate will join the HIV and Other Viral Diseases Division, Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases Directorate, and contribute to a multidisciplinary program team focused on developing products and solutions to address public health challenges. Experience with developing, validating, and implementing, immunogenicity, molecular, cell biology, and biomarker assays would be highly desirable. Thus, the candidate will apply her/his deep expertise to develop and implement molecular, cell-based, and immunologic assays including genotyping assays, immunogenicity assays, and functional assays to find solutions for public health problems or challenges.

Qualifications, Education & Experience requirements

• Ph.D. in Medical Sciences, Molecular Biology, Immunology, Biochemistry, or related field, with a minimum of 8 years relevant experience and with at least 3 years of post-doctoral training and 2 years’ experience as a senior scientist, preferentially in viral diseases or other high consequence pathogens.

• Experience leading project teams.

• Experience in assay development, validation, and implementation to support target candidate validation for both pre-GLP and GLP research.

• Proficiency in molecular biology skills, including primer design, cloning, PCR, qPCR, RT-qPCR, DNA, RNA isolation, and pathogens population genetics.

• Experience with recombinant protein and antibody production, purification of proteins and their biophysical characterization, and labeling and/or conjugation biochemistry.

• Experience with primary human cell culture and cell-based in vitro study design and method optimization.

• Experience developing biomarker/clinical biomarker assays would be highly desirable is a plus.

• Experience in developing, implementing, and supporting clinical assays in a regulated environment as well as in patenting products strongly preferred.

• Publication track record in peer-reviewed high-impact factor journals.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Contributes ideas for local product development of diagnostics and vaccines.

•  Contribute to the discovery of novel disease targeting methods.

• Maintains current knowledge of diagnostics and vaccinology, including technological developments that may assist in delivering new processes, improved products, or entirely new products.

•  Design, develop, and perform research experiments/assays in the field of both innate and infection and vaccine-induced innate and adaptive immune systems.

• Prepares reports for submission to regulatory agencies such as the EFDA.

• Prepares and/or contributes to articles for publication.

• Communicates and presents scientific/technical results at internal and external meetings.

• Conceive project ideas, write proposals, write grants, and effectively manage grants.

• Supervises and serves as a mentor to technical staff and postgraduate students.

• Provide scientific expertise and train/direct others in research techniques (instrumentation and methods).

• Work collaboratively within internal and external research teams

How to Apply

·         Interested applicants who fulfilled the above requirements should send A CV/resume (not more than 2 pages) through THIS LINK on or before July 23, 2023.

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