USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Fellowship in Microbial Genomics
*Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis.
ARS Office/Lab and Location: A research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), located in Peoria, Illinois.
The 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.
The USDA-ARS Culture Collection (NRRL) is part of the Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Unit (MPM) at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR) in Peoria, Illinois. The ARS Culture Collection contains over 90,000 strains of fungi and bacteria and our primary mission is to preserve, distribute and maintain the taxonomic accuracy of this valuable microbial germplasm resource.
Research Project: Under the guidance of a mentor, the fellow will participate in research that aims to curate, analyze, and combine internally and externally generated genome data on microbial germplasm from the NRRL into an accessible format that improves taxonomic accuracy, phylogenetic understanding and data availability. The fellow will collaborate with ARS scientists to conduct phylogenomic/comparative genomic/population genomic analyses on a microbial group of their interest that is present in the NRRL. Genome data are available for hundreds of strains each of Streptomyces, Bacillus, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Zygomycetes, as well as 700+ strains of Saccharomycotina critical for agricultural and pharmaceutical discoveries. Other groups of interest to the NRRL for which genome data could be generated include the Lactobacillaceae, Trichoderma, Ophiostoma, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium/Bradyrhizobium. The fellow with collaborate with the mentor to choose one of these microbial groups to improve their phylogenetic and taxonomy skills. This research will help to improve genomic resources and taxonomic resolution of the fungal and/or bacterial strains maintained by the NRRL and used by researchers throughout the United States.
Learning Objectives: During this appointment, the fellow will have the opportunity to:
- Improve their ability to analyze microbial genome data and conduct phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses.
- Learn to conduct research using advanced DNA sequencing technologies
- Understand the biology, evolution, and taxonomy of fungi in the NRRL
- Improve their written and oral communication skills
Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Kirk Broders (Kirk.Broders@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: 2026. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.
Appointment Length: The appointment will be for two years.
Level of Participation: The appointment is full time.
Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. The anticipated stipend range is $74,678 - $79,658 annually.
Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.
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 (Genetics, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Computational Biology or a related field). Degree must have been received within the past four years.
Preferred skills:
- Knowledge of current methods used in microbial genomics, including techniques used in genome assembly and annotation, phylogenomics, comparative genomics and database management is desirable.
Stipend
$74,678.00 – $79,658.00 Yearly
Point of Contact
Eligibility Requirements
- Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
- Degree: Doctoral Degree.