USDA-ARS Studying Microbial Degradation of Sucrose and Production of Bacterial Exopolysaccharides

How To Apply

To submit your application, scroll to the bottom of this opportunity and click APPLY.

• An application
• Transcript(s) – For this opportunity, an unofficial transcript or copy of the student academic records printed by the applicant or by academic advisors from internal institution systems may be submitted.  for detailed information about acceptable transcripts.
• A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list
• Two educational or professional recommendations

All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.

8/28/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), located in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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.

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You will engage in research focused on analysis of microbial degradation of sucrose and production of polysaccharides relevant to sugarcane and sugar beet post‑harvest storage raw sugar extraction. The research will utilize laboratory‑based conventional molecular biology techniques such as recombinant protein expression and purification to produce and study enzymes that produce polysaccharides related to sugar crop processing and production of bio‑based products.

The research will also include analysis of sugar crop (sugarcane, sugar beet, sweet sorghum) processing products, including sugars and syrups, resulting from experimental projects to improve food product quality and support new uses for sugar crops.

You will contribute to a collaborative, multi‑disciplinary research program incorporating biological, biochemical, and engineering analyses aimed at improved sugar crop processing to increase efficiency and consumer product quality as well as development of novel biobased marketable goods from sugar processing co‑products.

This experience will provide hands‑on learning in a multidisciplinary team environment and exposure to research objectives aim at solving challenges related to post‑harvest sugar crop processing and development of value‑added biobased products. You will develop and implement skills utilizing microbiology, molecular biology, heterologous protein expression and purification, protein analysis, and technical competencies in advanced sample‑preparation workflows, agricultural engineering, and data science.

This experience includes:

• Mastering biological sample preparation and following experimental design protocols.
• Learning heterologous protein expression, purification, and downstream catalysis of products.
• Learning data organization and management skills.
• Learning to utilize analytical instrumentation to support characterization of microbial products and associated carbohydrate samples.
• Learning to quantify microbial load (colony forming units CFUs) by semi‑automated methods.
• Learning collecting, organizing, and processing numerical data from analytical instrumentation, industrial facilities, and experimental analyses.
• Understanding biological and chemical aspects of sugarcane and sugar beet harvesting, transportation, storage, and raw sugar manufacturing.
• Developing scientific communication skills through supporting contributions to presentations and manuscript preparation.

The mentor for this opportunity is Gillian Bruni (gillian.bruni). If…