USDA-ARS Fellowship in Modeling Microbial Fate and Transport Affecting Microbial Quality of Irrigation Water Sources

ARS Office/Lab and Location: A research opportunity is available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS) within the Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory (EMFSL) at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) located in Beltsville, Maryland.

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.

The mission of EMFSL is to improve food safety and reduce foodborne illness by examining routes of contamination of fruits and vegetables with bacterial pathogens.

Research Project: The participant will examine matters related to the microbial quality of irrigation water. Specifically, they will contribute research to improve the modeling tools for estimating fate and transport of indicator and pathogenic microorganisms that result in changes of microbial quality of irrigation water in agricultural environments. Cost-effective mitigation solutions are needed to minimize the risk of foodborne contamination at the pre-harvest stage. The previous experience of responding to acute needs for site-specific recommendations on water quality assessment and monitoring included creating versatile mathematical models which were accepted for use by regulatory authorities. Currently there is no such model for the microbial pollutants at the farm scale. Use of validated models will improve irrigation water quality by quantifying risks of exceedance of the microbial water quality standards and by indicating the need for mitigation treatments during growing seasons. These results will benefit small farmers, regulators, and, ultimately, produce consumers.

The participant will design and conduct all aspects of the microbial fate and transport model development. They will create an add-on to the existing farm-scale water quality model APEX which can simulate all drivers for the microbial fate and transport. The participant will evaluate the model sensitivity and uncertainty, calibrate the model, and set and analyze results of multi-scenario simulations. Under the guidance of the mentor, the participant will also oversee field data collection related to the research project. 

Learning Objectives: The participant will learn how to use modeling to reduce bacterial pathogen loads in irrigation water, novel modeling concepts, integrated data collection and analysis methods. The participant will have the opportunity to learn in-depth modeling of processes and factors affecting microbial fate and transport. The participant will acquire a working knowledge of techniques of data imputation and estimation. Modeling techniques will be learned through various trainings and workshops if desired, and also through research on an inter-disciplinary project within ARS. The participant will have opportunities to become familiar with data collection techniques that will be required for the project. 

Under the guidance of a mentor, the participant will be involved in the following research activities: 1) Learn how to build an add-on to the existing water quality model for an emergent pollutant, 2) Learn how to characterize bacterial pathogen levels in the produce pre-harvest environment and follow their levels and status from irrigation water, and 3) Learn how to utilize modeling to inform strategies to improve water quality and availability.

The participant can expect to present data/findings at international scientific meetings related to water quality/food safety and regional (U.S. Mid-Atlantic region) meetings as well. USDA-ARS EMFSL is located in the metro-Washington, D.C. area at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), which provides ample interaction with ARS scientists as well as with other government research scientists and policymakers at regulatory agencies in private industry. EMFSL has a strong history of collaborating with many different academic institutions and U.S. federal government agencies on large field- and laboratory-based research. ORISE fellows, post-doctoral research associates and interns who have previously participated at EMFSL have had success in using their experience to gain different opportunities at the state and federal government levels, and with trade associations and in private industry.

Mentor: The mentor for this opportunity is Yakov Pachepsky (yakov.pachepsky@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor.

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: As soon as a qualified candidate is identified.  Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of ARS and is contingent on the availability of funds.

Level of Participation: The appointment is full-time.

Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. 

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals. Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens Details page of the program website for information about the valid immigration statuses that are acceptable for program participation.

ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and ARS. Participants do not become employees of USDA, ARS, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email USDA-ARS@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a master's or doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields.

Preferred Skills: