USDA-ARS Food Safety Data Science Fellowship
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
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), The Roman L. Hruska Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC), located in Clay Center, Nebraska, however, we will additionally consider fully remote candidates.
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 Roman L. Hruska Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) seeks to solve high priority problems for the meat and poultry industries. USMARC is recognized around the world for the comprehensive research and industry solutions produced over the last six decades and that legacy continues to this day. The Meat Safety and Quality Research Unit (MSQRU) is tasked with identifying solutions to reduce foodborne illnesses attributed to meat and poultry.
Research Project: This educational opportunity focuses on understanding and evaluating methods for Salmonella quantification and virulence assays at the speed of commerce under real-world conditions. The participant will collaborate with a research team to explore best practices in experimental design, hypothesis testing, and data analysis for assessing Salmonella detection methodologies.
Learning Objectives: The participant will learn about stakeholder-focused research, data science, scientific communication, food safety applications, real-world data, and collaborative/transdisciplinary/team research. Additionally, there will be opportunities for the participant to expand their data science skills. Further learning opportunities could include high performance computing, software development, geospatial or time series modeling, and mathematical modeling, or other areas of interest.
This opportunity represents a unique window into the food safety regulatory landscape and how research interfaces with regulation to improve public health. This opportunity will be especially valuable to those seeking future employment to apply data science in the food safety or biotechnology industries or government, and those who wish to be at the interface between research and application.
Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Tatum Katz (tatum.katz@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: June 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 $63,795 - $93,358 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.
The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within the past 3 years or anticipated to be received by start of appointment.
Preferred skills:
- Experience in statistical programming in languages such as R (ideal) or Python.
- An understanding of linear models and probability.
- A background in biology, with a preference for cellular biology, microbiology, infectious diseases, animal agriculture, or food safety.
- Experience in applied statistics, data science, machine learning, mathematical modeling, epidemiology, disease ecology, and PCR assay development.
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