Reader/Professor in Vaccinology

The University of Surrey is an international university with an excellent teaching and research profile that is innovative, forward thinking and achieving notable results.  As a result of our strategic plan and vision, the School of Biosciences and Medicine in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is creating a new position for an exceptional Reader/Professor in Vaccinology.  This is a very exciting opportunity underpinned by a substantial philanthropic contribution and a partnership between the University of Surrey and The Pirbright Institute.

Besides a vibrant working environment on a leafy campus in Guildford close to London (full relocation package available), this post offers extensive development opportunities and resources to support you to build your own research team and to fulfil your potential.  The  position will be based within the Section of Immunology at the University of Surrey, with a formal link to The Pirbright Institute enabling full collaboration and laboratory access as a part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Pirbright Livestock Antibody Hub. This hub will exploit the recent advances in our understanding of B-cell responses to better understand the protective immune response in livestock and poultry with a strong translational and one health focus. Ultimately the Hub will support rational vaccinology approaches, antibody-based treatment and prophylaxis as well as increasing the applicability of animals as models for human disease and treatment.  This programme or work is supported by the UK Veterinary Immunological Toolbox at Pirbright with the capability to engineer and supply existing mouse monoclonal antibodies as well as express new antibodies isolated from a range of species.

This new post is designed to enable a high potential academic to take the next step in their research career, supported witha generous start-up equipment/resource budget (c.£250k in the first three years)and four fully-funded PhD studentships.  Your profile will demonstrate success in scholarship and research in the field of Vaccinology along with a clear strategy to attract and secure research funding. If a candidate is appointed to Reader level in the first instance, mentoring will be provided to support progression to professorial level.

By way of further background, The Pirbright Institute delivers world-leading research to understand, predict, detect and respond to viral disease outbreaks. Pirbright’s major strength in understanding the immune systems of livestock provides a platform to control current diseases and respond to emerging threats. This supports partnership working with colleagues at the University of Surrey whose areas of research strength include clinical medicine and ageing, bacteriology, nutritional sciences, oncology, molecular & synthetic biology, immunology and virology. In the most recent UK government Research Excellence Framework exercise (REF2014), Biosciences at Surrey was ranked eighth out of 93 institutions, with 93% of our research rated as world leading or internationally excellent.

If you are a team player with a ‘can do’ attitude and a desire to achieve personally in your field, informal enquiries are encouraged to be made to the Professor Deborah Dunn-Walters, by email (via d [dot] dunn-walters [at] surrey [dot] ac [dot] uk).  Otherwise, we will look forward to receiving your application.  When completing the online application form, we would welcome in addition (i) a cover letter, (ii) your CV; (iii) a brief supporting statement outlining your intended five-year research plan.  

Deadline for applications is 30th November 2020. Apply on the University of Surrey's jobs website.