USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Research Computational Biology Fellowship
About the role
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking a researcher to work on developing bioinformatic and genomics tools to characterize the structure and function of plant, insect, and fungal genomes related to pecan cultivar development.
Responsibilities
- Developing and customizing pipelines for automation of data processing required for genome assembly and pangenomes using a combination of short- and long-read technology, including chromosome confirmation capture sequences.
- Developing genome annotation pipelines from existing methods to apply to genomic resources, or to develop novel genome annotation methods to apply towards existing genomic resources.
- Developing and customizing pipelines for automation of data processing required for discovering genetic (e.g., SNP, CNV) and epigenetic (e.g., DNA methylation) variations to support eco-evolutionary studies, QTL mapping, or other applications of genomic sequence variation.
- Explaining the structure and functional organization of plant, insect, and/or fungal genomes and describing how genomic tools are used to characterize genetic and epigenetic variation.
- Identifying and differentiating types of genomic variation (e.g., SNPs, CNVs, DNA methylation patterns) and functional genomic elements (e.g., enhancers, promoters) in focal species.
- Customizing bioinformatics pipelines for automated processing and analysis of short- and long-read sequencing data.
- Applying computational approaches to detect genetic and epigenetic variation from sequencing datasets in focal species.
- Generating genome assemblies from long-read sequence data and building pangenomes.
- Designing and implementing statistical methods for QTL mapping and association studies, and interpreting their results in the context of economically important traits.
- Evaluating and improving genomic prediction models for use in cultivar development programs.
- Gaining experience generating genome assembly pipelines for use in focal species.
Requirements
The candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a doctoral degree in the relevant fields within the last five years. Strong background in bioinformatics, quantitative genetics, or molecular engineering, with organismal and/or genomic knowledge pertaining to plant biology, entomology, or plant pathology is preferred.
Qualifications
- Doctoral degree in relevant field within the last 60 months or currently pursuing.
- U.S. citizen only.
Skills
- Strong background in bioinformatics, quantitative genetics, or molecular engineering.
- Organismal and/or genomic knowledge pertaining to plant biology, entomology, or plant pathology.
Benefits
The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. The anticipated stipend is $5,845 monthly, with a $1,945.35 health insurance supplement and $3,000 for travel.
Pay
$5,845.00 Monthly
Schedule
The appointment will initially be for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of ARS and is contingent on the availability of funds.
Contact
Contact Sara Beth for questions about the application process. Email: ARS.Southeast@orau.org