To submit your application, scroll to the bottom of this opportunity and click APPLY.

A complete application consists of:

• An application
• Transcript(s) – For this opportunity, an unofficial transcript or copy of the student academic records printed by the applicant or by academic advisors from internal institution systems may be submitted. Click here for detailed information about acceptable transcripts.
• A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list
• Two educational or professional recommendations
• A copy of an abstract or reprint of an article

All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.

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*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 College Station, Texas.

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 Responsive Agricultural Food Systems Research Unit (RAFSRU) located at Texas A&M University has research training opportunities for highly motivated postdoctoral fellows in prevention of diet-related chronic diseases, mechanistic studies in nutrition-health associations and plant genetics & biofortification. https://www.ars.usda.gov/plains-area/college-station-texas-rafsru/responsive-agricultural-food-systems-research-unit/

The research of the Responsive Agricultural Food Systems Research Unit (RAFSRU) is conducted under the USDA ARS Human Nutrition National Program (NP107). The unit’s mission is to prevent and mitigate nutrition-associated chronic diseases through innovations in the food and nutrition environment. RAFSRU conducts targeted research on human health and nutrition across all life stages, generating fundamental knowledge on the interplay among agriculture, food systems, the environment, and human health. Our research environment is guided by collaboration, mentorship, and a supportive culture that encourages personal and professional growth.

Research Project: Current nutrition-centered pre-clinical and clinical studies aim to understand the effects of maternal diet, obesity and other forms of malnutrition, and environmental factors to chronic disease. Specific studies focused on developmental programming of obesity and metabolic health and interventions to mitigate these are ongoing. These studies may employ both pre-clinical models and human nutrition approaches. Under the guidance of a mentor, the postdoctoral fellow will develop hypotheses and experimental studies to investigate the health impacts of diet and food-based interventions (such as anthocyanin-enriched staples) on metabolic dysfunction and inflammation. 

Learning Objectives: Under the guidance of a mentor, the fellow will have the opportunities to:

• Develop hypothesis-driven studies to examine the effects of specific diet and diet components on health outcomes using preclinical or clinical approaches.
• Conduct mechanistic studies in the context of pregnancy and nutrition.
• Receive training in using molecular and -omic methods.
• Learn advanced statistical and bioinformatic analysis of bulk and single cell transcriptomic data.
• Develop methods to link food nutrition environment with health outcomes.
• Learn and develop skills related to manuscript preparation and grant writing.

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Dr. Kartik Shankar (kartik.shankar@usda.gov) (Profile). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: November 2025. The fellowship is available immediately but start date can be 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 $68,000 - $75,000.

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) 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.

The qualified candidate should have received or be currently pursuing a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received with in the past five years or be currently pursuing.

Preferred Foundational Experience

• Hands-on experience with animal models of diet-induced obesity, metabolic syndrome, or cardiovascular disease, including implementation of nutritional interventions.
• Demonstrated expertise in human nutrition studies, such as cohort-based analyses, conducting controlled feeding trials, assessing dietary intake, or food systems analysis.
• Familiarity with precision nutrition approaches, including '-omic' analyses (e.g., transcriptomics, metabolomics) of biomarkers.

• Citizenship: LPR or U.S. Citizen
• Degree: Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or currently pursuing.
• Discipline(s):
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (24 )
• Veteran Status: Veterans Preference, degree received within the last 120 month(s).