Postdoctoral Research Associate

Texas A&M University System•College Station, TX

63d•Onsite

About The Position

Texas A&M AgriLife Research is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the Horticultural Sciences Department. This role involves conducting research on the molecular biology of plant-microbe interactions. The associate will be responsible for designing synthetic DNA constructs, performing gene expression and protein-protein interaction analyses, agrobacterium transformation, gene silencing, and other molecular biology analyses. The position may also involve assisting and supervising graduate and undergraduate students.

Requirements

Ph.D. in Biology, Plant Biology, Horticulture, Biochemistry or closely related field.
Ability to stand/sit at work bench for extended periods of time.
Ability to travel for field experiments for several days.
Ability to work in greenhouse.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to effectively use personal computer to communicate, prepare proposals to include cost information on spread sheets as applicable and provide reports of activities.
Ability to effectively communicate with faculty, students and staff.
Familiarity with appropriate laboratory and technical equipment.
Ability to multi task and work cooperatively with others.
Ability to analyze data and write reports.
Detail oriented with ability to organize tasks and prioritize work with minimal supervision.

Nice To Haves

Familiar with good laboratory practice principles of biological containment.
Skills in research in molecular biology techniques.
Skills in manuscript writing.
Ability to perform various molecular biology and genetic techniques.

Responsibilities

Conduct research activities on molecular biology of plant-microbe interactions.
Design synthetic DNA constructs.
Perform gene expression and protein-protein interaction analyses.
Conduct agrobacterium transformation and gene silencing.
Perform other molecular biology analyses.
Assist and supervise graduate and undergraduate students.
Cloning molecular biology (25%).
Plant bioassay (25%).
Record and analyze data/results (20%).
Report research through regular oral presentations and published in a timely manner in refereed journals.
Assist with research grant project reports.
Keep abreast of all current literature on subject matter.
Assist in grant writing and contribute to future research proposals (10%).
Supervise undergraduate students (5%).
Perform other duties as assigned (5%).