USDA-ARS Training Soybean Germplasm Curation Management and Data Science

How To Apply

To submit your application, scroll to the bottom of this opportunity and click APPLY. Applications must be submitted in English or include an official English translation.

• An application
• Transcript(s) – unofficial transcript or copy of 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

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

USDA-ARS-MWA-

• An application
• Transcript(s) – 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.

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4/10/2026 10:25:41 AM Eastern Time Zone

• Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis.

ARS Office/Lab and

Location:

A research opportunity is available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Soybean Maize Germplasm Pathology and Genetics Research Unit, Urbana, Illinois.

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 nourishment and well-being; sustain agroecosystems and natural resources; and ensure economic competitiveness and excellence of agriculture.

The agency’s vision is global leadership in agricultural discoveries through scientific excellence.

This fellowship will focus on germplasm curation, including maintenance, regeneration, distribution, and quality control. Under the guidance of a mentor, the participant will optimize workflows for phenotypic germplasm data collection and seek to improve germplasm use efficiency. The participant will gain experience using multiple databases for inventorying, tracking distributions, and managing phenotypic data to maintain identity preservation of the soybean germplasm collection holdings, and will have opportunities to improve database utilization.

Under mentorship, the participant will conduct experiments for phenotypic germplasm evaluation using mobile devices and high-throughput methods such as drones. Phenotypic evaluation will align agronomic traits with allele frequency using advanced statistics. The participant will have the opportunity to collaborate with the soybean breeding community to define scientific thresholds for duplicate germplasm accessions that supports genetic diversity while removing redundancy.

The participant will learn how phenotypic datasets are integrated with genomic data for association analyses, genomic selection, and AI-driven methods, including machine learning and deep learning, to enhance germplasm utilization.

• Apply principles of germplasm management and genetic diversity to real-world soybean genetic resource and breeding challenges.
• Gain hands-on experience with mobile and drone-based phenotypic data collection and quality control workflows.
• Develop skills in data integration for genomic association studies, genomic selection, and AI-driven predictive modeling.
• Learn to implement machine learning and deep learning approaches for optimizing germplasm use efficiency.
• Strengthen scientific…