Post-Doctoral Associate – University of Minnesota

A post-doctoral position is available in the group of Dr. Milton Drott at the USDA-ARS Cereal Disease Lab and the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, MN. Our team is broadly interested in the evolution of factors impacting the development of Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) in cereals. Areas of inquiry include 1) Harnessing fungal interactions with wild grasses and associated microbial communities to mitigate disease in agroecosystems 2) Determining the evolution and role of fungal specialized metabolites in pathogenesis and 3) Establishing how a changing climate shifts ecological and evolutionary forces that maintain populations of Fusarium graminearum.

Projects addressing these areas will incorporate in vitro experimentation and bioinformatic analyses, the latter at times incorporating large-scale publicly available datasets. The long-term goal of the project is to identify genetic and ecological patterns that will inform existing efforts and offer new approaches to control FHB of cereals. 

The successful candidate will design and perform experiments, keep detailed records, analyze, and synthesize data, present results at local and national meetings, and prepare manuscripts for publication.

The position offers opportunities to engage stakeholders and collaborate with multiple research groups at USDA-ARS, UMN, and other universities.