USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Bioinformatics

Research Project

The ARS Postdoctoral Research Fellow will contribute to research in agricultural soil microbial ecology. This is an educational opportunity to collaborate with multiple ARS laboratories to collaboratively develop novel indicators of soil communities, including domain- and functional-gene analysis to identify improved nutrient- and water-use-efficiency in agriculture. The Fellow will have the opportunity to collaborate with a national team to collect and analyze novel research aimed at identifying soil microbial contributions to soil health and crop yields in a newly developing team aimed at identifying soil microbiome zone management and its influence on soil amendment strategies such as fertilizers, organic amendments, and biologicals.

Learning Objectives

• Develop an understanding of principles and advanced concepts in agricultural soil microbial ecology and their relevance to sustainable crop production.
• Collaborate with multiple ARS laboratories to develop and evaluate novel indicators of soil microbial communities.
• Apply domain- and functional-gene analyses to characterize soil microbiomes and assess their roles in nutrient- and water-use efficiency.
• Design and conduct field and laboratory studies investigating soil microbial contributions to soil health and crop yields.
• Analyze and interpret complex microbiome datasets to inform soil management and amendment strategies.
• Evaluate the impacts of fertilizers, organic amendments, and biological inputs on soil microbial community structure and function.
• Engage with multidisciplinary research teams focused on soil microbiome zone management and its application in agricultural systems.

Mentor(s)

• Kate Reardon (catherine.reardon@usda.gov)
• Dan Manter (daniel.manter@usda.gov)

Anticipated Appointment Start Date

The anticipated appointment start date is 2026. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length

The appointment will initially be for one year, 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 only.

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

Qualification

The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a doctoral degree in the one of the relevant fields.

Preferred Skills

• Experience in fields of soil science, bioinformatics, statistics, microbial ecology, and molecular biology with experience with MinION sequence data and analysis of microbial functional gene pathways.

Discipline(s)

• Environmental and Marine Sciences (1)