USDA-ARS Fellowship in Development of Large-Scale Salmonella Genotyping Dataset for Machine Learning Applications

*Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis.

ARS Office/Lab and Location: A research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS). This opportunity is remote.

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.

Research Project: We have developed a comprehensive pangenome reference graph of Salmonella enterica and genotyped 539,000 isolate genomes. This data has been formatted in a serialized data format designed for machine learning training. The participant will be assigned to the project and will be involved in exploring ways of documenting and disseminating this data to the Salmonella community, so that new models for phenotype prediction can be developed and mechanistic insights can be gained.

Learning Objectives: Through this opportunity, the participant will gain experience in large-scale supervised machine learning and data curation.

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Adam Rivers (adam.rivers@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: May 10, 2024. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for 3 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 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.Southeast@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

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

Preferred skills:

• A preferred candidate will have experience curating large datasets and an interest in expanding their knowledge to machine learning applications.

Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree: Doctoral Degree.
• Academic Level(s): Postdoctoral.