USDA-ARS Food Safety Fellowship in Plant-Pathogen Interactions in Wheat

Research Project

You will receive mentorship and training in plant-pathogen interactions between wheat and mycotoxigenic fungi, with a focus on understanding factors that contribute to improved wheat resilience to fungal disease. Under the guidance of your mentor, you will study Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), one of the most significant diseases affecting wheat production, grain quality, and food safety worldwide.

Training Activities

• Learning bioinformatics skills
• Learning plant pathology, plant physiology methodology and skillset
• Collaborating in a multi-disciplinary research group
• Developing presentation and speaking skills
• Refining problem solving skills

Mentor

The mentor for this opportunity is William Hay (william.hay@usda.gov).

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing or have received a doctoral degree in the relevant fields (e.g. Genetics, Plant Pathology or Plant Physiology, or a closely related field)
• Degree must have been earned within the past four years, or if currently pursuing conferral should be anticipated in 2026
• Molecular biology technique (e.g. qPCR, RNA/DNA extractions, aseptic technique)
• Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, or Statistics experience
• Experience handling fungal cultures in a research setting
• Strong problem-solving skills
• Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills – ability to be self-motivated and to excel both independently and in a team environment
• Demonstrated communication skills (oral and written)

Stipend

$74,678.00 yearly

Contact

Please visit our Program Website for further information. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process, please email ORISE.ARS.HQPostdoc@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.