What are the responsibilities and job description for the USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Fellowship in Plant Biotechnology 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 Albany, California.
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.
Research Project: The research project is focused on developing methods for the genetic engineering of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) and potentially other plants with the goal of generating plant varieties with novel desirable traits. Combinations of tissue culture techniques and gene transfer platforms, like Agrobacterium mediated transformation, will be developed and utilized to introduce CRISPR reagents or other molecular components of interest to create the modified plants. The participant will learn and use multiple molecular biology, synthetic biology and plant biotechnology related tools and techniques including plasmid vector design and assembly, plant genetic engineering, plant tissue culture and tissue micropropagation, developmental regulator-based regeneration, genome editing and transgenic plant characterization techniques. New technologies and approaches that improve the efficacy or efficiency of performing plant genome engineering may also potentially be developed.
Learning Objectives: The participant will learn and use multiple molecular biology and plant biotechnology-related tools and techniques including plasmid vector design and assembly, design and application of synthetic gene regulatory components, use of developmental regulatory genes for plant transformation, plant genetic engineering, plant tissue culture and plant tissue micropropagation, genome editing and transgenic plant characterization techniques. Additionally, new technologies and approaches that improve the efficiency of performing plant genome engineering may also potentially be developed.
Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Ryan Nasti (ryan.nasti@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: May 4, 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.
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.PacificWest@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.