USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Fellowship on Resistance to Mycotoxin Contamination in Corn

*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), within the Food and Feed Safety Research Unit at the Southern Regional Research Center located in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

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.

Research Project: The participant will perform research pertaining to USDA-ARS project 6054-42000-025-00D entitled “Development of Aflatoxin Resistant Corn Lines Using Omic Technologies.” The mission of the Food and Feed Safety Research Unit is to safeguard U.S. agricultural commodities (e.g., corn, cottonseed, peanut, and tree nuts) from aflatoxin contamination using a multidisciplinary approach. Objectives of the project include:

1. Identify and characterize corn seed metabolites/proteins for enhancing resistance to mycotoxin contamination
2. Develop and evaluate hybrids and corn lines in greenhouse and field conditions
3. Perform modeling and data analysis using coding tools and geospatial data
4. Generation of risk indexes for mycotoxin contamination

This opportunity falls under a collaborative effort between the mentor and post-doctoral fellow with open channels of communication at all levels of project development, and experimentation. This opportunity contributes to valuable and impactful research in a stimulating and international environment. The participant will receive ample opportunities, available at the Southern Regional Research Center, to interact with a diverse group of scientists.

The participant will learn how to:

• Help the ARS scientist/mentor to perform functional biology experiments targeting genes/molecules/proteins of interest in the plant-fungal interaction focusing on pre-harvest mycotoxin contamination.
• Perform plant physiology, plant biochemistry and plant molecular biology research as well as general data, statistical analysis and prepare manuscripts for publication.
• Develop and apply systems modelling approaches, bioinformatics and modeling analysis including but not limited to linear and mixed linear models, geospatial grid analysis of weather, feature selection and sensitivity analysis.
• Analyze model outputs with meta-analysis approaches (e.g., sensitivity analysis, error mapping, and parameter identification) and deliver results and outcomes based on model performances.
• Consult with diverse stakeholders on experimental design, model development and utilization.
• Participate and communicate with the mentors in all aspects of experimental design, execution, data acquisition, data analysis and preparation for communicating results to the public.

Learning Objectives: 

• Ample mentorship, and training in studying the responses of plant-fungi interactions at a physiological, biochemical, molecular and mathematical level.
• Training in development and care of greenhouse/field experiments.
• Training in geospatial data analysis, and modeling of biological systems.
• Training for extraction and detection of fungal/microbial contaminants, toxins from fungal sources (e.g., aflatoxin, fumonisin and others), and quantitative data analysis of mycotoxin results.
• Opportunity to collaborate with and learn from highly qualified and experienced employees.
• Opportunity to develop the ability to troubleshoot projects in collaboration with the mentor and the entire research team.

Mentor(s): The mentors for this opportunity are Kanniah Rajasekaran (kanniah.rajasekaran@usda.gov) and Lina Castano-Duque (Lina.Castano.Duque@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor.

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: 2024.  Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for two years and six months, 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. The current stipend for this opportunity is $69,100 per year.

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals (citizens of NATO or ANZAC treaty countries). Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens Details page of the program website for information about the valid immigration statuses that are acceptable for program participation.

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.Southeast@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should be pursuing or have received a master's or doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields (e.g., Plant Sciences, Plant pathology, Food Science). Degree should be anticipated to be received by the start of the appointment.

Preferred Skills:

• Knowledge in agriculture, plant physiology and plant biochemistry/molecular biology.
• Knowledge in and skills in plant biology/ecophysiology experimental practices
• Knowledge in experimental design and statistics
• Proficient in coding (R and/or python)
• Knowledge and skills on fungal or microbiology practices
• Analytical ability to quantify toxins, knowledge in HPLC and other methods are desired
• The Research Unit can train the participant on analytical procedures (HPLC) for fungal toxin(s) determination and plant transgenics
• Ability to collaborate in large interdisciplinary teams in person and on-line

Eligibility Requirements

• Degree: Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree.