USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Fellowship in Grapevine Abiotic Stress Physiology and Genetics

Organization

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

USDA-ARS-NEA-

11/20/2026 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 Geneva, New York.

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.

This appointment is part of the Abiotic Stress Laboratory at Grape Genetics Research Unit (GGRU), USDA aimed to understand the grapevine response to environmental stresses like cold/freezing, drought, heat, and nutrient stresses. The research goal is to expedite research findings on understanding fundamental plant growth and developmental processes. You will advance your physiological and phenological knowledge on grapevine stress responses and enable identifying grapevines tolerant to adverse growing conditions.

You will have an opportunity to gain experience in plant measurements on leaf gas exchange, plant water/nutrient hydraulics, chlorophyll fluorescence, and root system architecture trait identification.

• Deep understanding of plant water relations to extreme environmental stresses.
• Hands‑on experience in measuring leaf gas exchange, plant water/nutrient hydraulics, chlorophyll fluorescence, and root system architecture adaptation.
• Controlled (greenhouse/glass house/growth chambers) and field research experience.
• Comprehensive understanding of biochemical, microscopical, and high throughput phenotyping technologies with plant stress research.

• Learn how grapevine populations and germplasm are evaluated to identify traits associated with tolerance to adverse growing conditions.
• Develop an understanding of how physiological mechanisms are connected to observable plant stress-response traits.
• Gain exposure to plant breeding, genomics, quantitative genetics, biotechnology, horticulture, and pre‑breeding approaches used to improve stress tolerance in grapevine breeding lines.
• Learn how researchers make crosses, evaluate trait performance, select plants, and advance breeding generations to improve breeding efficiency.
• Build experience documenting, communicating, and sharing research findings while collaborating with USDA-ARS, Cornell University, and Cornell Agri Tech researchers and professional scientific networks.

The mentor for this opportunity is Silvas Kirubakaran (silvas.kirubakaran). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).

Fall 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 funds.

The appointment is full time.

This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.

This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department…