USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Fellowship on Low-Cost Research Methods in Detecting Sarcocystis Parasites
*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 Beltsville, Maryland.
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: Zoonotic diseases, especially meat-born parasites, threaten human health. This fellowship will provide opportunities to learn techniques in performing research on Sarcocystis parasites found in livestock animals and learn various research methodologies, including low cost, sophisticated, next generation genome sequencing and transcriptomics.
Learning Objectives: The fellowship will specifically include training on Nanopore sequencing, which offers a powerful mobile sequencing platform that can be run from a laptop, powered by a simple USB connection. The instrumentation is inexpensive, lowering the barrier to entry, and therefore provides tremendous opportunity. The desired candidate should have experience in zoonotic parasitology. The long-term goal of this fellowship is to provide training in high impact research methodologies that can be proliferated to others in the same field.
Mentor(s): The mentors(s) for this opportunity is Benjamin Rosenthal (benjamin.rosenthal@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: June 1, 2023. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.
Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one month, ideally in June, 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, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals. 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.Northeast@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.