Postdoc Research Associate

Position Title:
Postdoc Research Associate

Appointment Type:
Post Doc/Trainee

Job Description:
Summary of Duties and Responsibilities:

Iowa State University is seeking applications for a newly established postdoctoral research associate position focused on characterizing genes regulating plant architectures and climate resilience. This position involves efforts in research and development, grant writing, project management, and student mentoring. This position is affiliated with Plant Science Institute (PSI) located in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences under the guidance of Dr. Patrick Schnable. PSI conducts multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary research on the effects of genotype and environments on phenotypes.

The research program includes the:

• Multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary approach to study plant architecture in maize, including for example mutation analysis and genome editing.

• Mechanisms study and genes interaction model development

• In-field data collection.

• Development of lab measurement technologies and system performance analysis.

Duties:

Duties/essential functions may include, but not limited to the following:

• Generating, genotyping, and maintaining mutants of genes related to plant developmental architectures that the lab has and will obtain from previous and future association analyses.

• Developing and optimizing strategies, methodologies, and algorithms for transcriptomic analyses of climate resilient crop plants.

• Collaborating on inter-disciplinary research projects that requires novel or unique solutions involving new or emerging technology, the evaluation of alternatives and the development of experimental or design plans, making innovative as well as basic measurements, setting up advanced experimental protocols, and/or modifying equipment to obtain unique results.

• Mentoring and training of lab graduate students and undergraduate research assistants.

• Writing reports and presenting data based on findings from experiments conducted for assigned projects. 

Required Minimum Qualifications:

 PhD
 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with maize agronomic traits under different environmental pressures and managing field-based phenotyping projects.
• A strong background in molecular biology specifically in maize gene cloning, genotyping and fine mapping.
• A strong background in plant hormones and their functions to stress response (such as transcription factor), preferably on maize root and shoot development.
• Experience in generating and maintaining gene editing (CRISPR/Cas9) lines and skills in tissue culture, such as embryo rescue.
• Experience in the analysis of RNA-seq and ChIP-seq data, and statistical analyses using R and/or Python.
• Demonstrated strong scholarly outputs including peer reviewed journal articles.

Proposed Start Date:
July 1, 2024

Proposed End Date or Length of Term:
June 30, 2025

Number of Months Employed Per Year:
12 Month Work Period

Time Type:
Full time

Application Instructions:

To apply for this position, please click on “Apply” and complete the Employment Application. Please be prepared to enter or attach the following:
1) Resume/Curriculum Vitae
2) Letter of Application/Cover Letter
If you have questions regarding this application process, please email [email protected] or call 515-294-4800 or Toll Free: 1-877-477-7485.
Why Choose ISU?
Iowa State University is committed to fostering a workplace of belonging, where diversity is celebrated and equity is a core value. Our Iowa State Postdocs enjoy comprehensive health and work life benefits, including medical and dental; as well as:
• Retirement benefits including defined benefit and defined contribution plans;
• Generous vacation, holiday, and sick time and leave plans;
• Onsite childcare (Ames, Iowa);
• Flexible Spending Accounts;
• Various voluntary benefits and discounts
• Employee Assistance Program;
• Wellbeing Program.

Original Posting Date:
March 20, 2024

Posting Close Date:
March 27, 2024

Job Requisition Number:
R14274