What are the responsibilities and job description for the USDA-ARS Germplasm Conservation Fellowship position at Zintellect?
*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 Griffin, Georgia.
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 Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit located in Griffin, GA is part of the USDA National Plant Germplasm System - https://www.ars-grin.gov/Collections#plant-germplasm. Our mission is to conserve, document, distribute, characterize, and evaluate crop germplasm for crop improvement research. Our location specifically conserves and curates agronomic and horticultural crops including sorghum, peanut, peppers, watermelon, squash, eggplant, okra, sweetpotato, subtropical and tropical legumes, warm-season grasses, cowpeas, annual clovers, various industrial crops, other crops, and their wild relatives.
Research Project: The Griffin, GA location maintains and conserves one of the largest plant germplasm collections in the USDA National Plant Germplasm System with over 105,000 accessions representing a variety of crops including sorghum, peanuts, grasses, cowpeas, and vegetable crops. Currently, we have over 8,000 accessions from recent seed increases that need to be counted, packaged, added to cold storage, and updated in the GRIN database in order to make the germplasm available for distribution to our stakeholders. Baseline seed germination rates for the accessions are needed for many of the accessions as they are processed into the collection.
Learning Objectives: The participant will learn basic skills related to germplasm seed conservation by processing these germplasm accessions into the active collection including seed cleaning and counting, packaging, and database documentation and entry. The participant will also learn basic germination techniques for a large variety of crops and become familiar with the Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA) standard protocols.
Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Melanie Harrison (melanie.harrison@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: January 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 $3,485 - $3,885 monthly.
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.Southeast@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.
Salary : $3,485 - $3,885