Research Molecular Biologist

This position is located within the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Plains Area (PA), at the Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center in College Station, TX. In this position, you will help to develop cost-effective methods for controlling foodborne pathogens associated with poultry and livestock.

Develop cost-effective methods for controlling foodborne pathogens associated with poultry and livestock. Identify and apply genetic, proteomic, and kinomic research approaches that are most likely to provide new information and products that will reduce Salmonella, Campylobacter, HPAI, and other foodborne pathogens; From colonization in poultry, swine, and beef/dairy cattle in order to decrease the risk of foodborne illness. Provide new information necessary to rationally design strategies to increase resistance against foodborne pathogen colonization in food producing animals. Enhance the safety of food supplies derived from commercially reared animals. Generate critical transcriptomic and kinomic data on host-pathogen interactions of Salmonella and other foodborne pathogens. Operation in high-containment environments, specifically BSL-3 facilities, for HPAI-related studies. Generate data for national food safety initiatives, especially regarding HPAI detection and survivability in meat and other food products. Elucidate effective immunometabolic molecular targets for intervention in the host-pathogen network that can be exploited by commercially viable intervention strategies, techniques, and technologies. Determine molecular immunometabolic biomarkers of foodborne pathogen colonization in host animals and virulence factors in foodborne pathogens to aid in detection and intervention efforts. Leading virus detection, viability assays, virus dissemination animal trials, meat product safety analysis, and virus survivability studies.