USDA-ARS Molecular Biology Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Natural Products Utilization Research Unit

About the role

The Natural Products Utilization Research Unit at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Oxford, Mississippi, seeks a postdoctoral fellow to contribute to research aimed at improving crop protection from pests through the use of natural products. The fellowship involves investigating genes involved in the biosynthesis, transport, and metabolism of natural products, focusing on weed management and allelopathic interactions.

Responsibilities

• Learn about the development and application of natural products for sustainable agricultural pest management and crop improvement.
• Gain experience using plant molecular biology approaches to investigate genes involved in the biosynthesis, transport, and metabolism of natural products.
• Participate in research focused on weed management and allelopathic interactions to improve crop protection strategies.
• Apply physiological, biochemical, and molecular techniques including RNA-seq, sequence database mining, real-time qRT-PCR, heterologous protein expression, and plant transformation.
• Develop skills in functional genomics approaches such as CRISPR/Cas-9 genome editing and RNA interference (RNAi) to study gene function and pathway regulation.
• Learn how to handle multiple plant systems, including Arabidopsis, rice, tobacco, sorghum, corn, and wheat.
• Gain experience in research advancing the understanding of allelochemical biosynthesis and genetic regulation, with the goal of enabling pathway manipulation through genetic engineering.
• Gain experience in developing environmentally benign pest management tools and alternative crop applications for pharmaceuticals and botanical supplements.

Requirements

• The candidate should have received a doctoral degree in Plant Molecular Biology or Plant Biochemistry within the last five years.
• Experience in understanding biosynthetic pathways and genetically engineering crops to produce desired natural compounds is preferred.

Qualifications

• A Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology or Plant Biochemistry.
• Recent doctoral degree within the last five years.
• Experience in plant molecular biology and genetic engineering.

Skills

• Experience in understanding biosynthetic pathways and genetically engineering crops to produce desired natural compounds.

Benefits

Not specified.

Pay

$60,000 - $70,000 annually.

Schedule

Full-time.