USDA-ARS Fellowship for Science Stand up in Agricultural Biocontainment and Hands on Biological Assay

*Applications may be 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 Animal Disease Research unit (FADRU) 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: Foreign Animal Disease Research unit (FADRU) has a mission to protect the U.S. from foreign animal pathogens. Our primary focus is to enhance the understanding of viral genomics, disease pathogenesis, and disease ecology through both basic and applied research. Additionally, we implement strategies of control and eradication of Foreign Animal Disease though improve diagnostic and development of vaccine against African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever and Foot-and-Mouth Disease. FADRU is located at NBAF in Manhattan Kansas and the primary focus of this appointment is help FADRU to stand up the labs and support senior scientist in stand-up experiments at the labs. Under the guidance of a mentor, the participant will participate in learning activities such as:

• Develop activities and perform in specialized computer and software,
• Plan daily activities, and support science transition,
• Help the SY develop, perform, monitor experiments, and record results
• Maintain detailed log of all appointment-related activities
• Prepare reports, graphs and charts from test results and activities related to science transition when requested by the mentor.

Learning Objectives: The participant will learn:

• basic and deep requirements to operate a lab at BSL-2 and BSL-3 level
• hands on science by participating in science related projects
• how to interact with and build a network with all NBAF community
• how to use various science equipment
• development and optimization of several experiments to support skills and immunology for FADRU.

Mentor: The mentor for this opportunity is Dr. Ediane Silva (ediane.silva@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor.

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: September 2024.  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. Stipend range is $51,406.20 to $54,832.50.

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 bachelor's or master's degree in the one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within the past year or to be received by December 2024.

Preferred Skills:

• Dynamic organizing science stand up related activities which include perform graphics, table or excel list. Also organizing and record research data; and preparing results of findings from experiments;
• Knowledge of scientific theories and principles of general Microbiology, and utilization of laboratory methods and procedures;
• Resolve complex problems or modify or adapt standard processes and procedures and conduct experiments;
• Knowledge of the theories and principles of statistics in order to choose appropriate statistical analyses and interpret data and skill in calibrating and operating;
• Oral and written communication practices and techniques needed for to speaking and writing with clarity.

Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree: Bachelor's Degree or Master's Degree received within the last 12 months or anticipated to be received by 12/31/2024 11:59:00 PM.