The Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), Canada’s Centre for Pandemic Research, is a world leader in infectious disease research and vaccine development for humans and animals. Located at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, VIDO is home to one of the largest and most advanced containment level 3 facilities in the world. To strengthen the preparedness for emerging infectious diseases we are currently expanding our infrastructure to include containment level 4 capacity, a GMP vaccine manufacturing facility, and a new animal housing facility. Our vision includes having the capacity to study any emerging disease in any animal model embracing a One Health approach to prevent emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in humans and animals.

 

Bovine Johne’s disease is an economically important disease in cattle globally. Mycobacterium paratuberculosis is the causative agent of Johne’s disease and establishes a lifelong infection in the intestinal tract of ruminants. Our lab uses a unique surgical model to target delivery of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis to specific segments of the small intestine which allows us to investigate mucosal immune responses to enteric infection, evaluate vaccine-induced intestinal immunity, and interrogate the host-mycobacterial interaction in vivo. This project will use methods in mycobacteriology, cellular and molecular immunology in addition to omics-based technologies to address fundamental questions surrounding parenteral and oral vaccine development for Johne’s disease. The project aims are to advance our understanding of mucosal immunity to Johne’s disease and determine the extent to which parenteral and oral vaccine delivery routes can stimulate intestinal immunity to enteric mycobacterial infections. This information will be used to guide the rational design of new vaccine candidates.

Dr. Antonio Facciuolo

E-mail: antonio.facciuolo@usask.ca, Phone: +1 (306)-966-1533

For more information, visit: Antonio Facciuolo | Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (vido.org)

Qualifications

·      Recent graduate training in microbiology, immunology, or relevant biomedical or veterinary sciences is an asset.

·      Fluency in English and excellent communication skills.

·      Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project

·      Relevant work experience

·      Scientific publications

·      The grade point average achieved

·      Other professional activities

·      Language skills

·      The successful applicant is also required to be enterprising and to possess good interpersonal skills

The position is available for a 4-year period for applicants holding a relevant master´s degree.

The successful applicant will be requested to formally apply for enrolment as a PhD graduate student at the Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine according to the rules stipulated in the guidelines for the Graduate Program at the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

The PhD student is expected to be affiliated to the graduate program in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology.

The candidate will be provided a stipend but will also be expected to apply for internal and external scholarships.

Candidates must submit electronically, one single application document (pdf file) that includes (1) a letter of motivation, (2) a complete curriculum vitae (CV), (3) a copy of graduate transcripts, and (4) contact information for individuals willing to provide references.