Postdoctoral Research Associate

Texas A&M University System • College Station, TX

2d

About The Position

Postdoctoral Research Associate Texas A&M Agrilife Research Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center, Horticultural Sciences Required Education: Doctoral Degree in related field Preferred Experience: Experience in research related to ‘foods for health’ and secondary metabolites. Responsibilities: Lead and coordinate lab activities, including scheduling, parts and supplies requisition, access, safety, and compliance. Perform preventive maintenance on laboratory equipment to keep them in optimal working condition. Conduct experiments related to identifying metabolites in plant and biological samples. Develop and conduct research projects related to a systems-wide approach to increase consumption of vegetables, fruits, and ‘foods for health’. Work on research teams and collaborate with other experts to achieve targeted goals of the melon integrated project. Conduct field trials and travel within Texas as needed. Participate in grant writing and collaborative research activities leading to peer-reviewed publications. Work with plant disease samples and understand the relationship between diseases, pests of vegetables, fruits, and potential metabolites. Conduct experiments related to the use of nanotechnology in agriculture in the field and greenhouse settings. Maintain impeccable record-keeping, troubleshoot instruments, and conduct field experiments. Develop and conduct research projects such as analysis and method development of bioactive compounds. Investigate changes in bioactive compounds during postharvest handling processes. Collaborate with industry partners and collect samples from various locations in Texas. Train undergraduates, graduate students, and visiting scientists. Develop and conduct hands-on training and short courses as needed. Write grant proposals, manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals, and reports. Perform duties assigned by the Director of the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center. Other duties as required. Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Excellent oral and written communication skills. Ability to design experiments independently with limited assistance. Competency with laboratory work and use of analytical instrumentation. Proven track record of peer-reviewed publications and scholarly work in related areas. Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with firm deadlines. Ability to maintain and troubleshoot analytical instrumentation. Ability to write and follow standard operating procedures. Ability to work effectively in a team environment. Ability to multi-task and work cooperatively with others. Ability to prepare safety and equipment use manuals and analytical methods as needed. Ability to communicate constructively with other scientists and collaborators. Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook, etc.). Ability to work evening and/or weekend hours as needed. Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Ability to conduct independent and collaborative research on identifying, characterizing, and functionally analyzing diverse metabolites in fruits and vegetables. Ability to investigate the influence of genetic and environmental factors on the biosynthetic pathways of metabolites in different fruit and vegetable species. Ability to link abiotic and biotic stress with secondary metabolites to develop climate-resilient vegetables, specifically tomatoes. Knowledge in linking bioactives, whole food, and microbiota. Ability to interpret analytical data from LC/MS, GC-MS, Raman spectroscopy, and NMR instrumentation. Knowledge of identification, characterization, quantitation, and metabolic profiling of bioactive natural products in plants. Proficiency in advanced analytical techniques for material characterization. High-quality research ability as evidenced by a strong publication record. Knowledge of sustainable food production and plant-based food trends. Familiarity with computational modeling of structure-function relationship Experience in identifying metabolites in biological samples. Sufficient knowledge in statistical analysis tools (e.g., SAS, R, XLstat, Multivariate analysis). Manage lab group, supplies, and inventory. Perform assay development for new compounds and ingredients. Participate in analyzing and disseminating data results, preparing manuscripts, reports, scientific papers/presentations, and grant proposals. Provide advice and assistance to other lab members and mentor graduate and undergraduate students All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution’s verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution’s procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check. Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer. As the largest comprehensive agriculture and life sciences program nationally, Texas A&M AgriLife brings together a college and four state agencies within the Texas A&M University System With over 5,000 employees, and a presence in every county across the state, Texas A&M AgriLife is uniquely positioned to improve lives, the environment, and the economy of Texas and the nation through education, research, extension and service. If your goal is the pursuit of excellence and your vision is to make a difference in this world, we invite you to explore our opportunities to discover what a career at Texas A&M AgriLife has to offer you. Texas A&M AgriLife is comprised of the following Texas A&M University System members: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Texas A&M AgriLife Research College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University Texas A&M Forest Service Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory Texas A&M AgriLife collaborates with Prairie View A&M University, Tarleton State University, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas A&M University-Kingsville and West Texas A&M University as well as with other public and private partners. Prospective employee benefits Retirement programs Commitment to inclusive excellence Strategic plan

Requirements

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to design experiments independently with limited assistance.
• Competency with laboratory work and use of analytical instrumentation.
• Proven track record of peer-reviewed publications and scholarly work in related areas.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with firm deadlines.
• Ability to maintain and troubleshoot analytical instrumentation.
• Ability to write and follow standard operating procedures.
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment.
• Ability to multi-task and work cooperatively with others.
• Ability to prepare safety and equipment use manuals and analytical methods as needed.
• Ability to communicate constructively with other scientists and collaborators.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook, etc.).
• Ability to work evening and/or weekend hours as needed.
• Doctoral Degree in related field

Nice To Haves

• Ability to conduct independent and collaborative research on identifying, characterizing, and functionally analyzing diverse metabolites in fruits and vegetables.
• Ability to investigate the influence of genetic and environmental factors on the biosynthetic pathways of metabolites in different fruit and vegetable species.
• Ability to link abiotic and biotic stress with secondary metabolites to develop climate-resilient vegetables, specifically tomatoes.
• Knowledge in linking bioactives, whole food, and microbiota.
• Ability to interpret analytical data from LC/MS, GC-MS, Raman spectroscopy, and NMR instrumentation.
• Knowledge of identification, characterization, quantitation, and metabolic profiling of bioactive natural products in plants.
• Proficiency in advanced analytical techniques for material characterization.
• High-quality research ability as evidenced by a strong publication record.
• Knowledge of sustainable food production and plant-based food trends.
• Familiarity with computational modeling of structure-function relationship
• Experience in identifying metabolites in biological samples.
• Sufficient knowledge in statistical analysis tools (e.g., SAS, R, XLstat, Multivariate analysis).
• Manage lab group, supplies, and inventory.
• Perform assay development for new compounds and ingredients.
• Participate in analyzing and disseminating data results, preparing manuscripts, reports, scientific papers/presentations, and grant proposals.
• Provide advice and assistance to other lab members and mentor graduate and undergraduate students
• Experience in research related to ‘foods for health’ and secondary metabolites.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate lab activities, including scheduling, parts and supplies requisition, access, safety, and compliance.
• Perform preventive maintenance on laboratory equipment to keep them in optimal working condition.
• Conduct experiments related to identifying metabolites in plant and biological samples.
• Develop and conduct research projects related to a systems-wide approach to increase consumption of vegetables, fruits, and ‘foods for health’.
• Work on research teams and collaborate with other experts to achieve targeted goals of the melon integrated project.
• Conduct field trials and travel within Texas as needed.
• Participate in grant writing and collaborative research activities leading to peer-reviewed publications.
• Work with plant disease samples and understand the relationship between diseases, pests of vegetables, fruits, and potential metabolites.
• Conduct experiments related to the use of nanotechnology in agriculture in the field and greenhouse settings.
• Maintain impeccable record-keeping, troubleshoot instruments, and conduct field experiments.
• Develop and conduct research projects such as analysis and method development of bioactive compounds.
• Investigate changes in bioactive compounds during postharvest handling processes.
• Collaborate with industry partners and collect samples from various locations in Texas.
• Train undergraduates, graduate students, and visiting scientists.
• Develop and conduct hands-on training and short courses as needed.
• Write grant proposals, manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals, and reports.
• Perform duties assigned by the Director of the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center.
• Other duties as required.

Benefits

• Retirement programs
• Commitment to inclusive excellence
• Strategic plan

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree