What are the responsibilities and job description for the USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Bioinformatics 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 Fort Collins, Colorado.
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 ARS Postdoctoral Research Fellow will contribute to research in agricultural soil microbial ecology. This is an educational opportunity to collaborate with multiple ARS laboratories to collaboratively develop novel indicators of soil communities, including domain- and functional- gene analysis to identify improved nutrient- and water-use-efficiency in agriculture. The Fellow will have the opportunity to collaborate with a national team to collect and analyze novel research aimed at identifying soil microbial contributions to soil health and crop yields in a newly developing team aimed at identifying soil microbiome zone management and its influence on soil amendment strategies such as fertilizers, organic amendments, and biologicals.
Learning Objectives: Under the guidance of the mentors, the participant will:
- Develop an understanding of principles and advanced concepts in agricultural soil microbial ecology and their relevance to sustainable crop production.
- Collaborate with multiple ARS laboratories to develop and evaluate novel indicators of soil microbial communities.
- Apply domain- and functional-gene analyses to characterize soil microbiomes and assess their roles in nutrient- and water-use efficiency.
- Design and conduct field and laboratory studies investigating soil microbial contributions to soil health and crop yields.
- Analyze and interpret complex microbiome datasets to inform soil management and amendment strategies.
- Evaluate the impacts of fertilizers, organic amendments, and biological inputs on soil microbial community structure and function.
- Engage with multidisciplinary research teams focused on soil microbiome zone management and its application in agricultural systems.
Mentor(s): The mentors for this opportunity are Kate Reardon (catherine.reardon@usda.gov) and Dan Manter (daniel.manter@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentors.
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: 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.