Job Opportunities

Title: Post-Doctoral Associate

Position Number: 124010

Category Status: Faculty, Non-tenured, continuing and term contract, 100% FTE

Unit: Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

Position Summary/Purpose of Position:

JIFSAN, a joint program of the University of Maryland and the U.S. FDA, is seeking a Post-Doctoral Associate to continue efforts to facilitate the sharing of whole-genome sequence data with an emphasis on collaboration and developments with CDC to push data to their PulseNet database. The position will require a robust understanding of bioinformatics and the analysis of data from next-generation sequencing technologies.

Responsibilities:

• Developing an automated process for pushing FDA whole-genome sequence data to external databases, e.g. CDC’s PulseNet database.
• Evaluating alternative methods for tracking and performing surveillance of whole-genome sequence data from foodborne pathogens with the objective of providing regular reports that include actionable information for compliance and outbreak activities.
• Assisting research microbiologists in the analysis and development of bioinformatics workflows to help them achieve their objectives and those of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) regarding foodborne pathogens and public safety.
• Presenting of data at scientific meetings in either oral or poster form as well as publishing of research and developments in peer-reviewed manuscripts.

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in biology, bioinformatics, computational biology, computer science, or other relevant areas.
• Experience with performing expert programming and independent development of workflows and pipelines to manage and analyze next-generation sequence data.
• Demonstrated broad and extensive knowledge of computational and programming methods for the management and analysis of next-generation sequence data.
• Possesses a strong commitment to producing production level code and best practices in managing and versioning code.
• Possesses a working understanding of genomics and biology as it relates to whole-genome sequencing, de novo genome assembly, QC/QA of whole-genome sequence data, etc.

Salary & Benefits:

Salary will be commensurate with experience. The University of Maryland offers an extensive benefits package.

Application:

All candidates must apply online at https://ejobs.umd.edu. A complete application packet includes a cover letter, CV, unofficial academic transcripts, and three (3) professional references, including name, mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address.

Closing date: Open until filled.

The‌ ‌University‌ ‌of‌ ‌Maryland,‌ ‌College‌ ‌Park,‌ ‌actively‌ ‌subscribes‌ ‌to‌ ‌a‌ ‌policy‌ ‌of‌ ‌equal‌ ‌employment‌ ‌opportunity,‌ ‌and‌ ‌will‌ ‌not‌ ‌discriminate‌ ‌ against‌ ‌any‌ ‌employee‌ ‌or‌ ‌applicant‌ ‌because‌ ‌of‌ ‌race,‌ ‌age,‌ ‌sex,‌ ‌color,‌ ‌sexual‌ ‌orientation,‌ ‌physical‌ ‌or‌ ‌mental‌ ‌disability,‌ ‌religion,‌ ‌ancestry‌ ‌ or‌ ‌national‌ ‌origin,‌ ‌marital‌ ‌status,‌ ‌genetic‌ ‌information,‌ ‌political‌ ‌affiliation,‌ ‌and‌ ‌gender‌ ‌identity‌ ‌or‌ ‌expression.‌ ‌Minorities‌ ‌and‌ ‌women‌ ‌ are‌ ‌encouraged‌ ‌‌to‌ ‌apply.‌

Title: Post-Doctoral Associate

Position Number: 120769

Category Status: Faculty, Non-tenured, continuing and term contract, 100% FTE

Unit: Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

Position Summary/Purpose of Position:

JIFSAN, a joint program of the University of Maryland and the U.S. FDA, is seeking a Post-Doctoral Associate to perform spectroscopic analyses using portable devices and automated processing routines to support food safety initiatives.

Responsibilities:

• Designing and carrying out spectroscopic experiments to identify unique chemical markers for food authenticity.
• Utilizing data to create databases that can be employed for screening foods and food products for authenticity.
• Performing an FDA validation of all experiments and data resulting from those experiments.
• Preparing manuscripts and presentations.

Qualifications:

• Ph.D., preferably in a Social Sciences program (e.g. Agricultural Economics, Economics, Public Policy, Public Health).
• Experience with optical spectroscopy and data analysis algorithms..
• Demonstrated experience performing analytical spectroscopy.
• Possesses strong knowledge of spectroscopic data handling and processing.
• Full professional proficiency in English, written and spoken.
• Ability to operate and maintain a safe, accident-free laboratory environment; safely and properly operate specified laboratory instruments and equipment; and troubleshoot all equipment in a chemistry laboratory.

Salary & Benefits:

Salary will be commensurate with experience. The University of Maryland offers an extensive benefits package. No VISA sponsorship is offered for this position.

Application:

Closing date: Open until filled.

Title: Post-Doctoral Associate

Position Number: 124150

Category Status: Faculty, Non-tenured, continuing and term contract, 1.0 FTE

Unit: Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

Position Summary/Purpose of Position:

JIFSAN, a joint program of the University of Maryland and the U.S. FDA, is seeking a Post-Doctoral Associate to collaborate with CFSAN FDA Scientists to continue efforts in genomic analysis of bacterial pathogens associated with foodborne outbreaks.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborating with established and local and international working groups on expanding and standardizing public metadata for foodborne pathogens (FDA’s GenomeTrakr database).
• Performing rigorous, innovative, “big data” analyses across the public, genomic database for Salmonella, utilizing improved metadata to test hypotheses surrounding source attribution, risk assessment, functional genomics, or others specific to the candidates’ research interest.
• Communicating research findings at scientific meetings and in peer-reviewed manuscripts.

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Biology, Computational Biology, or related field.
• Research experience a comparative genomic, phylogenetic, or bioinformatics “big data” project.
• Fluency in modern bioinformatics tools, e.g. navigating a Linux environment, running analyses on an HPC, and writing analytical pipelines using Perl, Python, bash scripting, R, or other relevant scripting language.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.

Preferences:

• Research focus in microbiology or foodborne pathogens.
• Familiarity with using ontologies to structure metadata, gene names, or gene networks.

Salary & Benefits:

Salary will be commensurate with experience. The University of Maryland offers an extensive benefits package.

Application:

All candidates must apply online at https://ejobs.umd.edu . A complete application packet includes a cover letter, CV, unofficial academic transcripts, and three (3) professional references, including name, mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address.

Title: Post-Doctoral Associate

Position Number: 120832

Category Status: Faculty, Non-tenured, continuing and term contract, 1.0 FTE

Unit: Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

Position Summary/Purpose of Position:

JIFSAN, a joint program of the University of Maryland and the U.S. FDA, is seeking a post-doctoral associate to aid in the monitoring and impact evaluation efforts of JIFSAN’s International Food Safety capacity building endeavors.

Qualifications:

• Ph.D., preferably in a Social Sciences program (e.g. Agricultural Economics, Economics, Public Policy, Public Health).
• Proficiency in survey design, econometrics, statistical analysis, Microsoft excel, Microsoft powerpoint, and data management systems.
• Ability to interact with project partners and coordinate fieldwork conducted to develop and test effectiveness of different training mechanisms.
• Ability to support data collection and project implementation in the field (including development of research instruments, sampling and randomization, and training of field staff).
• With supervision from collaborators, the ability to process and analyze data.
• Proficiency in preparing presentations, donor proposals, donor reports, discussion papers, and publications.
• Ability to travel as needed to conferences and project sites--in particular, the project research sites in Latin America and Asia.
• Proficiency in supporting activities related to communications and outreach activities (media engagement, writing blogs, preparation of research and policy briefs, technical workshops and stakeholder workshops).
• Excellent writing skills, analytical skills, and presentation skills.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, along with the ability to work independently and with initiative, and with colleagues from diverse cultures.

Salary & Benefits:

Salary will be commensurate with experience. The University of Maryland offers an extensive benefits package. No VISA sponsorship is offered for this position.

Application:

Closing date: Open until filled. For best consideration please apply by March 27, 2020.