A postdoctoral research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), US National Poultry Research Center located in Athens, Georgia. The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency with a mission to find solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. ARS will deliver cutting edge, scientific tools and innovative solutions for American farmers, producers, industry, and communities to support the nourishment and well-being of all people; sustain our nation’s agroecosystems and natural resources; and ensure the economic competitiveness and excellence of our agriculture. The vision of the agency is to provide global leadership in agricultural discoveries through scientific excellence. 

The ORISE participant will be part of the research team which is developing recombinant Marek's disease virus vaccines to prevent both Marek's disease and other poultry diseases. The project involves the construction of recombinant vaccines using Marek's disease virus as a vector platform and the evaluation of the vaccine efficacy against Marek's disease and targeted poultry disease. The participant will construct the molecularly clone of Marek's disease virus genome, and recombinant Marek's disease vaccine expressing the foreign transgene. The participant will learn vaccine efficacy studies to verify the vaccine efficacy of recombinant vaccines including sample collection from animals, execution of viral genome detection, and data analysis.

Preferred Qualifications for the ideal applicant: Experience in DNA, RNA amplification, molecular cloning, transgene expression technique, Avian virology and vaccine development.  

contact Dr. Taejoong Kim ([email protected])