USDA-ARS Trait Discovery in Cereals Using Forward Genetics

How To Apply

To submit your application, scroll to the bottom of this opportunity and click APPLY.

• 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.  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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U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

USDA-ARS-MWA-

3/27/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

• Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Research opportunity at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), located in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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 delivers cutting‑edge scientific tools and innovative solutions for American farmers, producers, industry, and communities to support nourishment and well‑being, sustain nation’s agroecosystems and natural resources, and ensure economic competitiveness and excellence of agriculture.

The USDA Cereal Disease Lab strives to reduce losses in wheat, oat, and barley to cereal rusts and Fusarium head blight. Researchers at this unit discover, characterize, and deploy new sources of durable host resistance, investigate pathogen biology, genomics, and metabolomics, and conduct virulence monitoring of domestic and international isolates. The participant will be involved in a research project that uses mutagenesis (loss‑of‑function) approaches to identify genes underlying disease resistance in plants and avirulence in pathogens.

Additionally, there is an opportunity to experience a diversity of training in plant pathology, horticulture, and plant breeding.

The participant will gain skills in laboratory methodologies, experimental design, horticulture, genetics, data analysis, statistics, and plant pathology. They will contribute to designing, organizing, and recording the results of large‑scale screens for identifying mutants for loss‑of‑function in disease resistance or avirulence. Throughout the project the participant will gain knowledge of current issues and latest research at the intersection of plant pathology and plant breeding, focusing on cereal rusts and Fusarium through exposure to the lab’s researchers and academic and industry collaborators.

Matthew Moscou (Matthew.

Moscou). For questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor.

March 2026 (start date flexible and will depend on a variety of factors).

The appointment will initially be for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of ARS and is contingent on the availability of funds.

Full time.

Monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. The anticipated stipend range is $4,584 per month.

U.S. citizens only.

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;

health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

Visit the Program Website. If you have additional questions about the application process, email ORISE.ARS.Midwest and include the reference code for this opportunity.

The qualified candidate should have received a bachelor's degree in one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within the past five years.

$4,584.00 monthly.

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree:
  Bachelor's Degree received within the last 60 months.
• Discipline(s):
• Life Health and Medical Sciences
• Agricultural Sciences
• Agriculture
• Agronomy and Crop Science
• Biochemistry
• Biology (General)
• Botany
• Cellular and Molecular Biology
• Ecology
• Genetics, including Genome Sciences
• Horticulture
• Plant Sciences
• Veteran Status:
  Veterans Preference, degree received within the last 120 months.

Janeen