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USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Fellowship in Foodborne Pathogen Research: Iowa
Job Description
- Agency
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- Location
- Ames, Iowa
- Job Category
- Post Doctoral Appointments
- Salary
- TBD
- Last Date to Apply
- 12/22/2023
- Website
- https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/USDA-ARS-MW-2023-0133
- Description
- *Applications may be reviewed on a rolling-basis. ARS Office/Lab and Location: A research opportunity is available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), National Animal Disease Center (NADC), Food Safety and Enteric Pathogens Research Unit located in Ames, Iowa. Relocation will be required. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency with a mission to find solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. ARS will deliver cutting-edge, scientific tools and innovative solutions for American farmers, producers, industry, and communities to support the nourishment and well-being of all people; sustain our nation’s agroecosystems and natural resources; and ensure the economic competitiveness and excellence of our agriculture. The vision of the agency is to provide global leadership in agricultural discoveries through scientific excellence. Research Project: The NADC is the premiere research institute within the USDA for studying the role of commensal bacteria in health and disease of food-producing animals. The selected participant will be part of a team of microbiologists, immunologists, bioinformaticians, and veterinarians who are investigating host-microbe interactions with the ultimate goal of discovering antibiotic alternatives that will improve animal health and food safety. We are looking for an outstanding scientist who is proactive, independent, and motivated to use advanced wet-lab and computational approaches to solve complex biological problems. A team of microbiologists are conducting research to dissect host-pathogen-microbiota interactions in the reservoir animals for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), namely cattle, in order to develop and apply novel STEC detection and elimination strategies. Current research is focused on: reducing cattle colonization by STEC; exploiting STEC interactions with the host and its commensal bacteria to develop control strategies (probiotics, vaccines) that would enable such reductions and development of methods to rapidly detect STEC colonized animals. The appointee will be responsible for conducting experiments and bioinformatics analyses of data generated as part of these projects. Projects will include in vitro and/or in vivo (animal models) experiments evaluating, colonization factors, immunological responses at the mucosal and tissue level, as well as determining bacterial community-fluctuations in the intestinal tract following inoculation with different bacteria, various dietary components, or stressors, and data evaluation. The participant will be involved in designing and evaluating modalities (example: antimicrobial peptides, vaccines) targeting food-borne pathogens from data collected. Methods would include host, bacterial strain or community-omics with primary focus on proteomics with additional genomics or transcriptomics studies. Related research information may be found at: https://www.ars.usda.gov/midwest-area/ames/nadc/people/indira-kudva/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Kudva+I https://www.ars.usda.gov/people-locations/projects/?person-id=44886 Learning Objectives: As a result of this training the participant will learn to independently design and execute complex experiments studying host-microbial interactions, especially in the context of a human pathogen in a reservoir host. These experiments would utilize in vitro (cell, tissue, or gastrointestinal fluid -based) and/or in vivo (animal) model systems to study microbial pathogenesis, colonization, community-fluctuations, as well as evaluate host immunological responses at blood and intestinal tissue level. Results from these experiments would be used to formulate and evaluate diagnostic or therapeutic modalities targeting the pathogen in the reservoir host. Skills acquired/honed would include but not limited to, various microbial culture techniques, PCR, qPCR, RT-qPCR, cloning, generation of bacterial and/or eukaryotic cell mutants, complementation, cell/tissue-culture, cell/tissue-based adherence assays, co-cultures, immune assays such as ELISA, immunoblots, immuno-histochemistry, fluorescent and/or laser capture microscopy, DNA, RNA and protein analysis including various electrophoretic and quantitation methods, genome modification evaluation, proteomics and/or transcriptomics and/or genomics with associated analytical and/or prediction software. Mentor(s): The mentor(s) for this opportunity is Indira Kudva (indira.kudva@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research project, please contact the mentor(s). Anticipated Appointment Start Date: 2023. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors. Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for 2 years but may be renewed upon recommendation of ARS and is contingent on the availability of funds. Level of Participation: The appointment is full-time. Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR). ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and ARS. Participants do not become employees of USDA, ARS, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE. Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE.ARS.Midwest@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.
- Qualifications
- The qualified candidate should have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields (e.g. Microbiology, Immunology, Bioinformatics/Computational Biology), or be currently pursuing the degree with completion before June 30, 2023. Degree must have been received within five years of the appointment start date. Preferred Skills: Demonstrated skills and research ability investigating microbial-host interactions, including computational analysis of proteomics, transcriptomics and/or genomics data, is ideal. Knowledge of statistical inference methods, microbiology, molecular biology and/or genetics is required. Ideal skills would include but not be limited to, PCR, qPCR, RT-PCR, cloning, cell/organ-culture, cell-based adherence assays, immune assays such as ELISA, immuno-histochemistry, DNA, RNA and protein analysis, proteomics and/or transcriptomics and/or genomics approaches, Use of Linux or Mac OS-X operating systems; analyses of large datasets, particularly of protein and nucleic acid sequences; use of biological databases and various bioinformatics tools; and technical writing in English for peer-reviewed publications is preferred. Knowledge of scripting language(s) such as Java or Python is optional although helpful. Good work ethics, interpersonal and public speaking skills
- Contact Person
- ORISE.ARS.Midwest@orau.org
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