Internships at Intravacc
At Intravacc we have often possibilities for internships for relevant ‘MBO’ (post-secondary vocational), ‘HBO’ (higher vocational), or University level. Please note that there are currently no internships available at our PCF department.
Get involved with developing vaccines
The practical work of vaccine development is divided in a number of departments. Are you looking for an interesting and challenging internship? Then look below what each department has to offer. If you are interested please send an email to our Human Resources department (personeelszaken@intravacc.nl) and mention the department and expertise you are interested in. In addition mention when and how long you want to have your internship and don’t forget to include your CV. We will let you know if we have availability during the time requested.
Process Development Vaccines
In this department we develop processes for the production of bacterial and viral vaccines. Within the upstream process (USP), either bacteria are cultivated to produce the product of interested or mammalian cells are grown to be used as a substrate for the viral product. Subsequently, in the downstream process (DSP), the vaccine is harvested and purified from the culture broth.
During your internship, you will work with different culture formats (shaker flasks, bioreactors) at different scales (ranging from 10 mL to 70L) within USP. The DSP process consists of several techniques, such as centrifugation, chromatography and (dead-end and tangential flow) filtration.
An internship project will be shaped combining departmental needs and student learning objectives. This can be a combination of the techniques mentioned above, as well as process modelling, (bioreactor) process characterization, platform process development, material screening, etc.
Product Characterization and Formulation
This department focuses on the development of analytical tests, stable formulation and appropriate methods for administration of new vaccines. Moreover, the department evaluates the efficacy and safety of these vaccines. There are four expertise groups:
Analytical Biochemistry, Biophysics & Chemistry – A vast array of immunochemical, molecular biological and biophysical methods are used to identify antigens and determine their concentrations, structure and integrity.
Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry – Mass spectrometry is used to identify and quantify proteins, excipients and adjuvants in vaccines, demonstrate the presence of posttranslational and chemical modifications in proteins and determine B and T cell epitopes in antigens.
Delivery & Formulation – New vaccines are composed to yield stable products that can be appropriately administered. Formulation of vaccines are investigated as liquid formulations or as solid formulations (freeze-drying). Vaccine administration routes such as intranasal, intradermal or intramuscular administration routes are also explored.
Preclinical studies – The efficacy and safety of new vaccine candidates are evaluated in in vitro and in vivo studies using an array of immunological techniques.
