FDA Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology and Microbiology
*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.
A research opportunity is currently available at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), in the Office of Regulatory Science (ORS) located in College Park, Maryland.
The Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) is the compendium of regulatory methods used by FDA to ensure that foods do not contain microbial pathogens. The method for the recovery of Shigella from foods is being improved and optimized into an international standard that incorporates pathogenic enteroinvasive Escherichia coli as additional target. Using classical microbiology, molecular biology (ie PCR, qPCR) and genomics (ie sequencing and bioinformatics), the goal is to improve the ability to detect and recover these pathogens from various food commodities and to gain a better understanding on how food processing, including the use of food additives, can affect their biology and their ability to be recovered.
Under the guidance of a mentor, the selected participant will be involved in the following activities, including but not limited to:
- Receive training in CFSAN and Division of Microbiology (DM) biosafety procedures for handling pathogenic bacterial cultures
- Receive training in DM laboratory methods, including the use of an anaerobic chamber and hypoxic CO2 incubators, if needed
- Follow experimental protocols and document findings in a laboratory notebook, which could includePerform basic microbiology such as bacterial culturing
- Perform PCR analysis
- Perform whole genome sequencing of mixed samples (metagenomics)
- Perform, summarize, and reorganize protocols
- Preparation of a report and presentation, demonstrating how various datasets are generated and then interpreted
- Collaborate with PI in the preparation of reports for communicating results to CFSAN, FDA, and the scientific community
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: February 1, 2021
If you have questions, send an email to ORISE.FDA.CFSAN@orau.org. Please include the reference code for this opportunity (FDA-CFSAN-2021-0009) in your email.