Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

With nationwide responsibility for improving health and well-being, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversees the biomedical research programs of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and those of NIH’s research Institutes. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)—a major research component of NIH and HHS—is recruiting for the following positions:

Postdoctoral intramural research training awards (IRTAs)

Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML), Hamilton, MT

A postdoctoral IRTA position on the pathogenesis of emerging respiratory viruses is available in the Molecular Pathogenesis Unit within the Laboratory of Virology at the RML campus of NIAID in Hamilton, Montana. The laboratory studies high- and maximum-containment RNA viruses that cause severe lower respiratory tract disease, including coronaviruses, Nipah virus, and influenza A virus.

The Molecular Pathogenesis Unit is interested in the pathogenesis of emerging respiratory viruses on every level from host to molecule. The laboratory uses an experimental approach to increase our understanding of the disease induced by emerging respiratory viruses in the upper and lower respiratory tract, as well as in the central nervous system. Fundamental experimental approaches of the laboratory include molecular and cell-based techniques, including in human organoid cultures and a variety of animal models. Studies are carried out in biosafety level (BSL)-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4 laboratories. The Molecular Pathogenesis Unit considers diversity and inclusion the centerpiece of the team’s culture.

Successful applicants will be part of a diverse and multidisciplinary team focused on experimental approaches to relevant questions in the pathogenesis of emerging respiratory viruses. The project will specifically focus on the role of the upper respiratory tract as a barrier to infection of the lower respiratory tract and as a facilitator of transmission. The project will rely on the establishment of human organoid cultures and animal models suitable for studying high- and maximum-containment viruses.

An overview of the Molecular Pathogenesis Unit’s most recent research with regards to pathogenesis of emerging respiratory viruses:

• Williamson et al. Clinical benefit of remdesivir in rhesus macaques infected with SARS-CoV-2. Nature 585: 273-276

• Speranza et al. Single-cell sequencing reveals SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics in lungs of African green monkeys. Sci Transl Med 13: eabe8146

• Speranza et al. Age-related differences in immune dynamics during SARS-CoV-2 infection in rhesus macaques. LSA 5: e202101314