Plant Microbe Interaction Postdoctoral Fellow

Berkeley Lab’s (LBNL) Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology (EGSB) Division has an opening for a Plant Microbe Interaction Postdoctoral Fellow to join the Feedstocks Group of the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI).

In this exciting role, you will work under Dr. Henrik Scheller and be involved in projects focused on assessing plants, including sorghum plants engineered for improved biomass and bioproduct accumulation on the interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. This position will involve the analysis of plant mycorrhizal interactions in different sorghum varieties, including characterization of specialized metabolites in roots, root exudates, and enzymes involved in glycosylation of metabolites. Plant lines and microbial interactions will be analyzed through inoculation experiments, qPCR, metabolite profiling and quantification of plant growth. Enzymes will be investigated after heterologous expression in plants or yeast. You will work in a cross-disciplinary team of scientists involved in different aspects of the work.

This position has an anticipated start date of March 3, 2025.

What You Will Do:

• Inoculate sorghum plants with arbuscular mycorrhizal spores. Engineered sorghum plants have been or will be generated by other members of the group.
• Grow and phenotype sorghum plants. 
• Plant genotyping using standard techniques of molecular biology, including extraction and manipulation of DNA and RNA, PCR, qPCR. 
• Metabolite extraction from plant samples for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analyses (roots and root exudates). 
• Propagate sorghum plants, including planting and harvesting biomass and seeds. 
• Maintain an accurate and detailed scientific logbook of all experiments performed. 
• Archive generated material (DNA / seeds / biomass samples), ensuring that others can duplicate results.
• Perform data analysis and preparation of figures/tables for publications as needed.

What is Required:

• A recent Ph.D. (within the last 1-2 years) in Plant Biology, Molecular Biology, Metabolomics, Biochemistry, or a related field. 
• Experience with plant microbe interactions and working with plants, including culturing and genotyping.
• Experience with microbiology and cultivation of microorganisms.
• Strong organizational skills including experience maintaining detailed and accurate records of experiment results and analyzed data.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including experience organizing/presenting technical reports and demonstrated success in the publication of high-impact work in internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals.
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills including experience conducting experiments independently and collaborating with a diverse interdisciplinary research team.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience with metabolite analysis.
• Experience with microscopy. 
• Experience with heterologous protein expression in eukaryotic hosts.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct original work that meets the milestones of a larger project and scientific program.

Notes:

• For first consideration, please apply with a curriculum vitae (CV) or resume and a cover letter describing your interest by January 15, 2025.
• This is a full time, exempt from overtime pay (monthly paid), 2 year (benefits eligible), Postdoctoral Fellow appointment with the possibility of renewal based upon satisfactory job performance, continuing availability of funds, and ongoing operational needs. You must have less than 3 years of paid postdoctoral experience.
• The monthly salary range for this position is $5,841 - $7,003 and is expected to start at $5,841 or above. Postdoctoral positions are paid on a step schedule per union contract and salaries will be predetermined based on postdoctoral step rates. Each step represents one full year of completed post-Ph.D. postdoctoral experience.

• This position is represented by a union for collective bargaining purposes.

• As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct, are currently being investigated for misconduct, left a position during an investigation for alleged misconduct, or have filed an appeal with a previous employer.
• This position may be subject to a background check. Any convictions will be evaluated to determine if they directly relate to the responsibilities and requirements of the position. Having a conviction history will not automatically disqualify an applicant from being considered for employment.

• This position will be performed onsite at the Emeryville Station East (ESE) Operations Center in Bldg. 978 located at 5885 Hollis Street Emeryville, CA 94608.

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Berkeley Lab (LBNL) addresses the world’s most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab’s scientific expertise has been recognized with 16 Nobel prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

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