Gene therapy is a rapidly growing field that utilizes viral vectors to deliver DNA or RNA to a patient’s target cells to treat intractable diseases, such as cancer and genetic diseases. Infectious titer is a critical measurement of viral vector function and potency. Such functional measures of viral vectors are highly variable, making comparisons of viral vector titer and quality challenging. There is a need to reduce variability and improve reproducibility of such assays to help accelerate research and development of gene therapies.

This NIST postdoctoral research opportunity focuses on developing robust protocols and refining measurement methods in infectious titer assays. Activities can include optimizing adenovirus and lentivirus assays, automating adenovirus plaque identification, developing label free measures of cell transduction, quantifying extracellular matrix effects on infectious titer assays, and performing dynamic measures of infectivity over an assay time course. Measurement methods can involve microscopy, flow cytometry, and time-lapse imaging. Novel microscopy tools include high-speed microscopy to accelerate assay imaging and plasmonic scattering microscopy to characterize ECM interactions and their impact on assay reproducibility.

key words

Plasmon; Imaging; Scattering; Microscopy; Extracellular; Matrix; Cells; Protein; Secretion; Adhesion; Cytometry; Virus; Infectivity; vectors; titer; reproducibility; adenovirus; plaque; transduction

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral applicants