USDA-ARS Postgraduate Microbial Fellowship
*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), located in Madison, Wisconsin.
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: Specifically, this project will focus on best practices to collect, extract nucleic acids from, and sequence oral swabs from ruminating cows. The participant will collect samples from dairy cows, and preserve them in multiple liquids and then extract DNA from the swabs to find the best method for room temperature preservation of the samples compared to freezing samples. These will be used to give us a snapshot into the rumen microbiome of the cows. It is imperative that the samples yield high quality high molecular weight DNA for long read DNA sequencing. The project will also involve learning to sequence the DNA and how to process the data.
The participant will become familiar with a variety of lab tasks including but not limited to sample collection, bacterial culture, nucleic acid extraction, library preparation for sequencing, data handling and data analysis.
Learning Objectives: In addition to laboratory tasks, the participant will be exposed to and will learn valuable bioinformatics skills to handle a variety of phenotypic and sequencing data.
Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Jennifer McClure (jennifer.mcclure@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: August 2024. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.
Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for four 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.Midwest@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.
Qualifications
The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or already received a master's degree in the one of the relevant fields. Degree must be received within the past one year or currently pursuing.
Preferred skills:
- Experience with nucleic acid extraction and familiarity of Nanopore sequencing techniques
- Familiar with the bovine microbiome
Eligibility Requirements
- Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
- Degree: Master's Degree received within the last 12 months or currently pursuing.