The Garvan Institute of Medical Research is launching a new Structural and Biophysical Sciences capability within the Development Platform to strengthen the bridge from basic discovery to translational and therapeutic outcomes. This role will serve as the cornerstone of that capability, setting the vision, building the infrastructure, and establishing the collaborations that will make Garvan a leader in structure-enabled translational research.
The Lead will be a hybrid role, both a hands-on scientist and a strategic institute-wide advisor, leveraging structural biology, molecular biophysics, and protein biochemistry to answer high-value scientific questions. By combining deep technical expertise with strategic foresight, this role will create a resource that empowers Garvan’s research programs to design better experiments, engineer better molecules, and deliver better therapeutic candidates.

ABOUT GARVAN

Garvan Institute of Medical Research is an independent Medical Research Institute (MRI) in Sydney, delivering scientific and clinical impact on a global basis and in partnership with organisations that share our vision. We are proud to be one of Australia’s largest and most highly regarded MRI’s.
Our vision is global leadership in discoveries to impact and our enduring purpose is to impact human health, by harnessing information encoded in our genome.
We seek to see our world-class discovery research achieve life-changing impacts, not only for individual patients with rare diseases, but for the many thousands affected by complex, common disease.
Garvan promotes a diverse workplace and is committed to the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. We are always looking for culture ‘add’, not culture ‘fit’ and are building diverse teams with great sets of complementary styles and skills to help deliver our important work effectively.

The key responsibilities include:

Capability Development and Leadership

• Establish and lead the Structural and Biophysical Sciences hub within the Development Platform, designing a sustainable operating model that can scale with demand.
• Define the technical scope and strategic direction for the hub, ensuring alignment with Garvan’s translational priorities.
• Identify and integrate emerging technologies that can accelerate or enhance structural and biophysical insights.

Project Leadership and Delivery

• Lead or oversee high-impact structural and biophysical studies that directly inform drug discovery and translational decision-making.
• Guide project teams on optimal study design, from construct selection and protein expression through to data analysis and interpretation.
• Oversee workflows for protein design, expression, purification, and characterisation, ensuring materials are fit-for-purpose for structural studies.
• Collaborate with the Biologics Platform to apply structural and mechanistic insights to therapeutic protein engineering.
• Prioritise projects and resource allocation to maximise scientific and translational impact.

Scientific Advisory and Mentorship

• Serve as a go-to resource for structural and biophysical guidance across Garvan’s research programs.
• Mentor and train Garvan researchers in relevant methods, from fundamental principles to advanced data interpretation.
• Provide strategic input to institute-wide initiatives, grant applications, and technology investments.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and scientific excellence.

Collaboration and Partnerships

• Build strong working relationships with Garvan program leaders, platform managers, and core facility directors.
• Establish and manage collaborations with national and international academic partners, industry stakeholders, and CROs.
• Position Garvan to participate in large-scale structural biology initiatives and consortia.