USDA-ARS Investigating the Complex Mechanism of Arbovirus Infection/Replication/Transmission
Application Deadline
6/19/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone
Description
*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), within the Foreign Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit (FABADRU) located in Manhattan, Kansas.
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: This educational opportunity focuses on AI-based screening and statistical analysis research of pathogen-host protein interactions to explore key host proteins involved in arbovirus replication within arthropod vectors. Participants will gain hands-on experience analyzing large datasets, including transcriptomic and proteomic data from mosquitoes provided by FABADRU, as well as complementary genomic, transcriptomic, and mass-spectroscopy datasets available from public databases. Participants will learn to utilize cutting-edge AI tools to create ranked lists of key candidate proteins and screen protein-protein interactions between virus-interacting host proteins and selected host proteomes using recent structure prediction methods (Science 390, 23 October 2025). They will also gain exposure to laboratory techniques for verifying putative protein-protein complexes, such as Yeast Two Hybrid assays, Co-immunoprecipitation, and fluorescence microscopy. These studies will provide insight into the mechanism of viral infection and replication in mosquitoes as well as contribute to understand the molecular mechanism and protein-protein interactions important for virus infection and pathogenesis; thereby identifying possible targets for medical countermeasures against arboviruses.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn to design and implement AI-based screening strategies to analyze pathogen–host protein interaction datasets.
- Develop proficiency in statistical analysis of large-scale omics data, including transcriptomic, genomic, and mass spectrometry datasets.
- Gain hands-on experience managing and integrating multi-omics datasets from institutional (FABADRU) and public databases.
- Learn to prioritize and rank candidate host proteins involved in arbovirus replication using computational and statistical approaches.
- Develop skills in computational prediction of protein–protein interactions, including the use of advanced structure prediction tools.
- Learn to construct and interpret predicted protein–protein complex models within host proteomes.
- Gain practical laboratory experience validating protein–protein interactions using biochemical techniques such as Yeast Two-Hybrid, Co-immunoprecipitation, and fluorescence microscopy.
- Develop the ability to correlate computational predictions with experimental validation results.
- Strengthen understanding of molecular mechanisms of viral infection and replication in arthropod vectors.
- Learn to identify and evaluate potential molecular targets for therapeutic or preventive countermeasures against arboviruses.
Mentor(s): The mentors for this opportunity are Chad Mire (chad.mire@usda.gov) and Siddhartha Kanrar (Siddhartha.Kanrar@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentors.
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: August 31, 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. The anticipated stipend range is $74,000 - $90,000 annually.
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.Plains@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.
Qualifications
The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a doctoral degree in the one of the relevant fields.
Preferred Skills:
- Previous experience in in computational biology and statistics
- Previous experience with infectious animal disease research and/or vector biology.
- Previous experience with research under high biosecurity (BSL-3 and higher).
- Previous experience in genomic analyses of non-model organisms
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Previous experience in team and collaborative scientific environments
Point of Contact
Eligibility Requirements
- Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
- Degree: Doctoral Degree.