USDA-ARS Animal Virology​/Immunology Research Training Fellowship

Organization

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

USDA-ARS-PA-

10/23/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

• Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis.

A research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), located in Manhattan, KS.

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 National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS is a state-of-the-art facility operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that is designed to help protect the nation’s agriculture, farmers and citizens against the threat and potential impact of serious animal diseases. The Foreign Animal Diseases Research Unit (FADRU) at NBAF develops novel strategies and countermeasures to control Foreign Animal Diseases (FADs) of livestock.

Specifically, the research program focuses on foot‑and‑mouth disease, classical swine fever, and African swine fever.

FADRU has opportunities for post‑graduate research scientists interested in training fellowships conducting research in animal virology and immunology. You will have training opportunities in virus isolation, propagation, and titration; design and preparation of vaccines; determination of serum antibody titers using virus neutralization assays and/or ELISAs; evaluation of vaccine potency and efficacy in swine and cattle; and use of molecular and cellular techniques such as recombinant DNA technology, DNA sequencing, real time PCR, protein expression, tissue culture, construction of recombinant virus, Western blotting, light and fluorescence microscopy, and flow cytometry.

You may also have opportunities to use our in‑house high‑throughput and Big Data facilities for RNA‑seq, scRNA‑seq, microarray analysis, and bioinformatics including high-performance computation. You will participate in the research project under the mentorship and guidance of the Research Scientists of FADRU.

• Develop proficiency in virus isolation, propagation, and titration techniques.
• Acquire skills in vaccine design, formulation, and preparation.
• Understand how to measure serum antibody responses using virus neutralization assays and ELISAs.
• Learn how to evaluate vaccine potency and efficacy in swine and cattle models.
• Understand how to apply molecular and cellular biology methods including recombinant DNA technology, DNA sequencing, real‑time PCR, protein expression, and tissue culture.
• Gain experience in constructing recombinant viruses and performing Western blot analyses.
• Hone your microscopy techniques including light and fluorescence microscopy.
• Learn how to perform cell‑based analyses using flow cytometry.
• Learn how to utilize high‑throughput technologies such as RNA‑seq, single‑cell RNA‑seq, and microarray analysis.
• Understand how to conduct bioinformatics analysis using high-performance computing resources.
• Develop skills through mentored research under the guidance of FADRU research scientists, strengthening project design, data interpretation, and scientific communication skills.

The mentor for this opportunity is James Zhu (James.Zhu). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).

2026. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

The appointment will initially be for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of ARS and is contingent on the availability of…