Natural Resources Job Board

 

ARS Office/Lab and Location: A research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Protein Engineering and Molecular Biology Research is available within the Food Processing and Sensory Quality (FPSQ) Unit in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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 will focus on modeling and characterizing the interactions between food allergens and antibodies that cause food allergies. Preference will be given to applicants with demonstrated experience in protein modeling, protein engineering, protein chemistry, molecular simulation, machine learning, or bioinformatics. Experience using Molecular Operating Environment (MOE), Chimera, Schrodinger Biologics Suite, or similar software for protein modeling and Nanoscale Molecular Dynamics (NAMD), or similar software, for molecular dynamics simulations is preferred.  

The selected participant will be a part of a research team that conducts basic and applied research to characterize food allergen structure. The overall objective is to leverage modeling and molecular simulation to identify unique features of peanut and tree nut allergens. The applicant will apply their chemical biology, chemical computing, computational biology, protein engineering, molecular biology, or biochemistry knowledge to learn and apply molecular biology concepts to characterize immunoglobulin-E (IgE) binding to food allergens.  

Mentor: The mentor for this opportunity is Christopher P. Mattison (Chris.Mattison@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor.

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: August 2024. 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. Current stipend is $72,553 annually with a health insurance supplement.

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals. Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens Details page of the program website for information about the valid immigration statuses that are acceptable for program participation.

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.

The qualified candidate should be pursuing or have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields (i.e. chemical biology, chemical computing, computational biology, protein engineering, molecular biology, biochemistry. Degree must have been received within the past five years or anticipated to be received by December 31, 2024.