USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Fellowship in Swine Viral Disease Research

*Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis and applications may close before the deadline.

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 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.

The National Animal Disease Center (NADC) in Ames, IA is the American farmer's one-stop shop for animal health, food safety, and disease research and has the experience, expertise, and biosecurity needed to work with all economically important livestock, poultry, and wildlife—from chickens to bison and everything in between. This opportunity is in the endemic swine viruses laboratory group of the Virus and Prion Research Unit, which advances a comprehensive research program in virology, immunology, veterinary science, and computational biology to develop solutions for protecting United States swine herds from endemic viral disease threats.

Research Project: You will gain experience in animal and/or veterinary science to perform live animal studies and subsequent evaluations of swine viral disease pathology, preventions, and/or treatments. Experiments will be performed with conventional swine of all production stages and will primarily involve porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) or porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) as the infectious agents being studied to advance basic and applied research goals, such as understanding host-pathogen interactions or efficacy of viral control strategies. You will be involved in all phases of research, with an emphasis placed on participation in animal study design, preparation, and execution. Post-collection processing and analysis of animal specimens may also be performed through laboratory assays (e.g. nucleic acid extractions, RT-qPCR, ELISA, histopathology, immunohistochemistry), along with opportunities to interpret and communicate research findings in reports, presentations, and publications. Exposure to additional assays and analyses for methods such as flow cytometry, cell culture/stimulations, and RNA sequencing (bulk, single-cell, spatial) may also be available based on your interests. Research endeavors are intrinsically collaborative and foster synergistic relationships with scientists across multiple ARS research institutions/national programs, academic institutions, and research consortiums. Opportunities for additional training, travel to communicate findings, and professional networking will also be available.

Learning Objectives: Under the guidance of a mentor, you will have the opportunity to learn to: (a) plan, execute, analyze, and communicate results from swine challenge studies utilizing PRRSV or PEDV as the infectious agents; (b) prepare study design protocols; (c) perform infectious challenge, sampling, and necropsies; (d) process specimens in the laboratory; (e) analyze and interpret data; and (f) communicate findings. 

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Jayne Wiarda (jayne.wiarda@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor.

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: January - June 2027. 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.

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.

Salary : $75,000 - $95,000