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• An application
• Transcripts –
• A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list.
• Two educational or professional recommendations

All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.

• Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis.

ARS Office/Lab and Location: A postdoctoral research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), within the Foreign Disease/Weed Science Unit (FDWSRU) in Frederick, 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.

The ARS-FDWSRU is a unique governmental research facility with a mission to combat invasive organisms that endanger U.S. agriculture. These organisms can be foreign pathogens (bacteria, viruses, fungi, oomycetes) that cause disease on economically important crops or invasive weeds that endanger crops or rangeland. Our 43,000 square foot research facility provides a wide range of labs, greenhouses, and growth chambers, including a 10,000 square foot BSL-3 containment facility, plus powerful computational and bioinformatic tools through the ARS SciNet platform.

Research Project: A postdoctoral research opportunity is available to study phloem specific gene expression in citrus varieties susceptible and resistant citrus greening (also called HLB or huanglongbing; associated with the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus). Research will catalog phloem gene expression changes in response to infection in HLB-susceptible sweet orange and HLB-resistant Carrizo. We are using a recently developed methodology for woody crops that allows gene expression profiling of phloem tissues. The method leverages a translating ribosome affinity purification strategy (called TRAP) to isolate and characterize translating mRNAs from phloem specific tissues. Our approach is unlike other gene expression profiling methods in that it only samples gene transcripts that are actively being transcribed into proteins and is thus a better representation of active cellular processes than total cellular mRNA. Sweet orange, and HLB-resistant Carrizo (sweet orange x Poncirus) have been transformed to express the tagged ribosomal proteins under the control of characterized phloem-specific promoters; tagged ribosomal proteins under control of the nearly ubiquitous CaMV 35S promoter will be used as a control. Transgenic plants will be exposed to CLas+ or CLas- Asian citrus psyllid and leaves sampled 30, 60, 90, and 120 days later. Ribosome-associated mRNA will be sequenced and analyzed to identify differentially regulated genes at each time point and between each citrus cultivar. Comparisons of susceptible and resistant phloem cell responses to CLas will identify those genes that are differentially regulated during these host responses.

Learning Objectives: Under the guidance of a mentor, learning opportunities include:

• Plant cultivation
• Insect handling and inoculation
• Procedures for plant pathogen containment
• Nucleic acid extraction and immunoprecipitation
• Next generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis
• Drafting manuscripts reporting experimental results

Mentor(s): The mentors(s) for this opportunity is Elizabeth Rogers (elizabeth.rogers@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: June 2023. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for ten 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.

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

The qualified candidate should have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields (e.g. Plant Pathology, Microbiology), or be currently pursuing the degree with completion by July 1, 2023.

Preferred Skills:

• Ability to lead and conduct research
• Work both independently and as part of a diverse team
• Experience with plant pathogenic bacteria
• Experience with molecular biology techniques, including nucleic acid extraction, PCR, sequencing, and sequence analysis
• Demonstrated ability to achieve research goals, meet deadlines, and communicate finding in peer-reviewed journals and at scientific meetings

• Citizenship: LPR or U.S. Citizen
• Degree: Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or anticipated to be received by 7/1/2023 12:00:00 AM.
• Discipline(s):
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences
• Veteran Status: Veterans Preference, degree received within the last 120 month(s).