USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Research Computational Biology Fellowship
Application Deadline
8/28/2026 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), National Animal Disease Center (NADC), Virus and Prion Research Unit (VPRU) in Ames, Iowa.
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.
National Animal Disease Center (NADC) is the premier research institute within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for studying diseases of large animals, and is located in Ames Iowa. At the NADC, scientists are able to investigate microbe-host interactions from every perspective—molecular, microbe, and natural host. For more information about the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Research Participation Program, please visit the Program Website: https://orise.orau.gov/usda-ars/
Research Project: Research will focus on the swine bacterial pathogens Streptococcus suis and Glaesserella parasuis, both of which are major contributors to high-priority disease challenges and drivers of antibiotic use in swine production. The goal is to identify genetic and regulatory factors that influence disease outcomes in S. suis and G. parasuis. These insights are important for distinguishing virulent from non-virulent strains and for supporting vaccine development. The fellow will collaborate closely with microbiologists and immunologists to unravel the complex molecular mechanisms underlying host–pathogen interactions, including bacterial colonization of the respiratory tract and evasion of host immune defenses. This will be through analytical pipelines and developing algorithms for RNA-seq and whole-genome data.
Learning Objectives: Under the guidance of mentors, you will have the opportunity to learn to: (a) conduct research using swine infection models; and (b) utilize genomic and transcriptomic data to build comprehensive knowledge bases on the genetic factors influencing bacterial colonization and bacterial disease outcomes such as pneumonia, septicemia, meningitis, endocarditis, and polyarthritis.
Mentor(s): The mentors for this opportunity are Tracy Nicholson (Tracy.Nicholson@usda.gov) and Samantha Hau (Samantha.Hau@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentors.
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: 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 $75,284 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.Midwest@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 (e.g. bioinformatics, computational biology, or relevant degrees (such as molecular biology, genetics / genomics, systems biology, microbiology [often paired with computational electives], biostatistics, or computer science). Degree must have been received within the past five years, or anticipated to be received by 10/30/2026.
Preferred skills:
- Understanding of bacterial genetics, disease biology, modern genomic and transcriptomic methods, such as comparative genomics, RNA-seq, genome assembly, and other high-throughput sequencing approaches.
- Familiarity with transcriptomic analysis packages (e.g., DESeq2, scanpy) and workflow managers (e.g., Nextflow, Snakemake).
- Prior use of bioinformatics tools, pipelines, and statistical methods for the analysis of large-scale genomic and transcriptomic datasets
- Experience in high-performance computing environments (e.g., command-line interface, scripting in R/Python, use of common bioinformatics software).
- Ability to collaborate and conduct research within a multidisciplinary team.
- Communication skills
- Scientific writing abilities
Stipend
$75,284.00 Yearly
Point of Contact
Eligibility Requirements
- Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
- Degree: Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or currently pursuing.