Research Associate - Posting No. 1427
Date Posted
October 29, 2008
Employer
University of Maryland - College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Location
College Park, MD
Job Description
Description:
The person selected for this position of Research Associate will participate in a one-year, grant-funded research project focusing on the isolation and identification of bacterial epiphytes naturally present on the surface of fresh tomatoes.
Responsibilities:
• Must work independently and use a number of environmental sampling protocols and molecular techniques commonly used to study food safety of fresh-market fruits and vegetables. These include methods for metagenomic DNA extraction, PCR, Quantitative PCR and clone library construction that are used to isolate and identify bacterial epiphytes.
• Maintenance of meticulous records and creation of sequence alignments using bioinformatic techniques.
• The Research Associate is also required to summarize their laboratory data, and then analyze microbial community diversity found in field samples of bacterial epiphytes.
• In addition, this person will be expected to author or co-author manuscripts describing their work for publication in scientific journals.
Job Qualifications
Required:
• An earned doctorate (PhD) in Plant Science, Plant Biology or a related field is required.
• A strong educational background and training in current molecular methods, computational biology, applied microbiology and horticultural crop production are also required.
• In addition to working in the Plant Sciences Building on the University of Maryland campus, this Research Associate will also be expected to be able to work in collaborating FDA/CFSPAN laboratories in the Wiley Building at the College Park Metro Station.
• Some travel will also be required to field research plots to collect environmental samples. The candidate is consequently required to possess a valid Maryland driver's license. Selected individuals must be able to receive a federal security clearance.
Preferred:
• Evidence of the ability to develop independent lines of research through prior grant submission and publication is also suggested.
Salary
Salary will be commensurate with experience, with base salary of $40,000.00 (40 hours/week). The University of Maryland offers an extensive benefits package.
Contact Information
Dr. Christopher S. Walsh
Applications:
A complete application packet includes a letter of application, a current (signed) resume or Curriculum Vitae, official transcripts (copy acceptable for application process), examples of creative or scholarly activities, and three professional references, including name, mailing address, telephone number, and E-mail address. This information should be sent to: Dr. Christopher S. Walsh, 2102 Plant Sciences Building #036, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-4452.
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Website - http://agnr.umd.edu/