Post-Doctoral Associate - Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory

Classification Title:

Postdoc Aso

Job Description:

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is creating an environment that affirms community across all dimensions. We particularly welcome applicants who can contribute to such an environment through their scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and professional service. If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call 352-392-2477 or the Florida Relay System at 800-955-8771 (TDD) or visit Accessibility at UF .

The UF/IFAS Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory (FMEL) is seeking to hire two postdoctoral associates funded by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) for two years. The postdoctoral associates will manage and participate actively in a project evaluating entomological risk factors of Florida Culicoides spp. and mosquitoes for Oropouche virus transmission with a focus on vector competence studies that measure horizontal and vertical transmission of the virus.  

This is a 12-month non-tenure-accruing position that will be 100% research (Florida Agricultural Experiment Station), available in the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, at the University of Florida.  This assignment may change in accordance with the needs of the unit.  Duties will include investigations of candidate arthropod vectors of Oropouche virus focused on mosquitoes and Culicoides midges and their vector competence for Oropouche virus.

The postdoctoral associate will participate in studies evaluating interactions between Oropouche virus and candidate arthropod vectors. The principal duties and responsibilities assigned to this position are supervising and performing infection studies, insect husbandry, maintenance of cell cultures, propagating Oropouche virus, and performing tissue culture and molecular assays for determination of the presence of Oropouche virus and viral load in insect samples. The person will be expected to prepare presentations for meetings, travel to meetings to present results, and preparation and publication of peer-review papers. Also, you will be expected to assist in training other people on lab techniques, data entry, and interpretation of data sets. Your work activities are to be coordinated with your supervisor, Barry Alto, Associate Professor.

Description of Work Unit

The UF/IFAS FMEL is located on a 38-acre campus, much of which is comprised of native Florida coastal hammock habitat, five miles south of downtown Vero Beach, Florida. Faculty and staff at the UF/IFAS FMEL perform research on diverse topics related to human/animal pathogens and their arthropod vectors. UF/IFAS FMEL facilities include Biosafety Level 2 and 3 laboratories and associated arthropod-containment facilities, shop facilities, an animal holding and rearing facility, comprehensive computing equipment, a vehicle pool, and mosquito rearing facilities. Current laboratory staff includes 12 faculty, postdoctoral associates, graduate students, and ca. 20 support personnel.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The University of Florida is a Land-Grant, Sea-Grant, and Space-Grant institution, encompassing virtually all academic and professional disciplines, with an enrollment of more than 56,000 students.  UF is a member of The Association of American Universities.  The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences includes the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Florida Sea Grant program, and encompasses 16 on-campus academic departments and schools, 12 Research and Educational Centers (REC) located throughout the state, 6 Research sites/demonstration units administered by RECs or academic departments, and Florida Cooperative Extension Service offices in all 67 counties (counties operate and maintain). The School of Natural Resources and Environment is an interdisciplinary unit housed in IFAS and managed by several colleges on campus.  UF/IFAS employs nearly 4,500 people, which includes approximately 990 salaried faculty and 1,400 permanent support personnel located in Gainesville and throughout the state. IFAS, one of the nation’s largest agricul