Oak Ridge National Laboratory - Oak Ridge, TN
posted 5 months ago
As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has a rich history of over 80 years dedicated to solving some of the nation's most pressing challenges. With a workforce of more than 6,000 individuals, ORNL is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible (DEIA) environment that encourages a variety of ideas and perspectives. This commitment is essential for fulfilling ORNL's mission to accelerate scientific discoveries and translate them into solutions for energy, environmental, and security issues facing the nation. The Biosciences Division at ORNL is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Plant Synthetic Biology. This role focuses on the design and genetic enhancement of bioenergy crops, supported by the Secure Ecosystem Engineering and Design Science Focus Area (SEED SFA) and the DOE Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI). The successful candidate will collaborate with a diverse team of scientists to engage in several key research tasks, including the engineering of plant hosts to regulate associated microbes, the development of plant-based biosensors for microbial detection, multi-gene engineering in plants, and the creation of new tools in plant synthetic biology. In this position, the postdoctoral researcher will be responsible for designing and constructing gene constructs, transforming these constructs into plants, and conducting molecular and phenotypic analyses of genetically modified plants. The researcher will also present findings at project meetings and national/international conferences, publish results in peer-reviewed journals, maintain detailed records, and ensure compliance with environmental, safety, health, and quality program requirements. A strong commitment to ORNL's core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service is essential, as is the promotion of a respectful workplace that values diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.