USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Investigating Tolerance of Bacterial Foodborne Pathogens in Pre-harvest Produce Environments
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- An application
- A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list
- Two educational or professional recommendations
All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.
*Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis.
ARS Office/Lab and Location: A postdoctoral research opportunity is available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), within the Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory (EMFSL) at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center located in Beltsville, Maryland.
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.
The mission of the EMFSL is to improve food safety and reduce foodborne illness by examining routes of contamination of fruits and vegetables with bacterial pathogens.
Research Project: The participant will help examine issues related to pre-harvest produce safety. The research will be part of the PAUSE (Preventing Pathogens in Agricultural Water Use Systems in the Environment) project.
Under guidance from the mentor, the participant will help design and conduct all aspects of the experiment, from laboratory to growth chambers to fields, in consultation with ARS and project collaborators. This includes evaluating interventions against the bacterial foodborne pathogen, the development of tolerance and resistance to specific interventions (physical, chemical) after repeated exposures. The participant will also evaluate the cross-tolerance of bacterial cells exposed to pre-harvest agricultural stresses to various interventions.
The participant will learn methods to reduce bacterial pathogen loads in irrigation water, novel filter design concepts, integrated data collection and analysis, and novel methods to isolate bacterial cells and nucleic acids. The participant will have the opportunity to learn more in-depth statistical analysis techniques through various trainings and workshops if desired, and also through research on interdisciplinary projects within ARS. This is an integrated produce safety research project, and the participant will have opportunities to learn at each stage of the continuum. Digital PCR techniques, along with automated nucleic acid extraction techniques, will be integral to the project.
Learning Objectives: There are four learning objectives:
- Assay target pathogens / indicators / surrogates against intervention technologies (filtration, lytic bacteriophage treatments, chemical sanitizer, ultraviolet radiation).
- Perform microbiological assays that can determine if the exposed cells develop resistance to specific or combinations of interventions.
- Help determine if exposed cells have longer environmental persistence or greater tolerance to pre-harvest stresses (survival in soils / water microcosms).
- Help determine if exposed cells have greater tolerance to repeated interventions.
The participant can expect to present data / findings at international scientific meetings related to food safety / environmental microbiology, and regional (U.S. Mid-Atlantic region) meetings as well. USDA ARS EMFSL is located in the metro-Washington, D.C. area at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), which provides ample interaction with ARS scientists as well as with other government research scientists and policymakers at regulatory agencies in private industry. EMFSL has a strong history of collaborating with many different academic institutions and U.S. federal government agencies on large field- and laboratory-based research. ORISE fellows, post-doctoral research associates and interns who have previously participated at EMFSL have had success in using their experience to gain different opportunities at the state and federal government levels, and with trade associations and in private industry.
Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Manan Sharma (manan.sharma@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor.
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: November 1, 2023. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.
Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for two years, 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 current stipend range for this opportunity is $73,916 – $78,592 per year depending on experience.
Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals. Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens Details page of the program website for information about the valid immigration statuses that are acceptable for program participation.
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.Northeast@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.
The qualified candidate should have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields, or be currently pursuing the degree with completion by December 31, 2023. Degree must have been received within the past five years.
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