Postdoctoral Fellowship in animal disease research

Closing date: 24 January 2022

A research opportunity is available with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Animal Disease Research Unit located in Pullman, Washington.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis and this posting could close before the deadline.

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the US 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 USDA-ARS Animal Disease Research Unit performs research on infectious diseases of agricultural animals to provide solutions to problems that have significant economic impact on livestock industries of the United States. For that, ADRU conducts research on multiple projects, including the development of an effective strategy to control bovine and equine theileriosis, caused by the intracellular tick-borne pathogens, Theileria orientalis, Theileria equi, and Theileria haneyi.

Research project

The primary goals of the project are to: 1) Characterize competence of US tick species to acquire and transmit T. orientalis; 2) Characterize parasite virulence factors and immune correlates of protection and disease during acute and persistent equine and bovine theileriosis using immune function assays and comparative genomics and transcriptomics; 3) Develop an improved serologic assay for the diagnosis of T. orientalis; and 4) Characterize the in vitro and in vivo drug susceptibility profiles of equine and bovine Theileria spp. The project will include training opportunities in functional immunology assays, advanced molecular biology techniques, and comparative genomics and transcriptomics. Under the guidance of a mentor, participant activities will include:

  • Performing laboratory and animal research related to candidate drug screening
  • Performing laboratory and animal research related to vaccine and diagnostic assay development
  • Receiving mentoring in scientific writing
  • Presentation of research results at scientific conferences.

Learning objectives

The participant will develop and expand his/her professional knowledge of molecular biology, immunology and vaccinology by performing hands-on experiments. The participant will have the opportunity of publishing scientific articles describing: 1. The competence of US tick species to acquire and transmit T. orientalis; 2. Parasite virulence factors and immune correlates of protection and disease during acute and persistent equine and bovine theileriosis 3. The development and validation of an improved serologic assay for the diagnosis of T. orientalis; and 4. The in vitro and in vivo drug susceptibility profiles of equine and bovine Theileria spp. Moreover, this project will enhance the participant's capability to work collaboratively to design, plan, and implement approaches to solve livestock problems, which will give them expertise that can be used in different but related research fields.

Apply

For more details and to apply, visit the job advert on the USDA's vacancies platform.

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