Job Description Summary

Organization's Summary Statement: Postdoctoral Associate position in plant genome engineering at Dr. Yiping Qi lab (https://qilab.weebly.com/), in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Duties and Responsibilities: The postdoctoral associate is responsible for independent and collaborative development, implementation, and analysis of scientific research in the discipline of plant genome engineering. Responsibilities include management of all aspects of engineering synthetic CRISPR-Cas nucleases for their testing in major crops such as rice, wheat, tomato, potato, poplar and citrus. The postdoc will work on the development of novel genome engineering methods in plants. The tasks include hypothesis development, literature review, collection of pilot data, report writing, supervising of undergraduate research students and graduate research students, interacting with collaborators in both academic and private sectors, overseeing data collection procedures, supervising experimental procedures, review of data for quality control, supervision of data entry/data analysis, analysis of research hypothesis using descriptive and multivariate statistics, and the development of independent and collaborative presentations and high-quality publications.



Physical Demands: Ability to wear laboratory protective equipment. Ability to work in uncertain weather conditions. Ability to lift and carry 25lbs.


Preferences: Experience working in genomic analysis, protein engineering and plant molecular biology. The postdoctoral scholar should have bioinformatic skills tailored for genomic analysis, protein annotation and functional sequence comparison. Standard molecular biology techniques and experience are required such as DNA and RNA isolation, PCR, RT-PCR, quantitative PCR, RNAseq, PCR amplicon sequencing, southern blot, protein expression and purification in E.coli, protein evolution, protein extraction and analysis with western blot and gel electrophoresis of DNA, RNA and protein. Proficient molecular cloning skills are preferred, such as conventional cloning, TA cloning, Golden Gate cloning, Gateway cloning and Gibson assembly, and the use of vector construction software. Additional preferred skills are plant protoplast transformation, plant tissue culture, confocal imaging and bioinformatics. Prior experience with protein molecular evolution is a plus. The individual must have excellent writing and communication skills and be able to coordinate activities with faculty, other scientists, collaborators, staff and students. The ability to multitask and work on several projects simultaneously, as well as good time management and organizational skills are necessary. Candidates who have demonstrated scholar excellence by publishing multiple high-quality peer-reviewed papers are preferred.

Minimum Qualifications:
Required –Ph.D. in plant molecular biology/plant genomics or protein engineering or horticulture/agricultural science field.



Licenses/ Certifications: NA

Additional Job Details

Required Application Materials: Cover Letter, CV/Resume, 3 References

 

Best Consideration Date: May 30, 2025

 

Posting Close Date: June 6, 2025

 

Open Until Filled: Yes

 

Financial Disclosure Required

For more information on Financial Disclosure, please visit Maryland's State Ethics Commission website.

Department

AGNR-Plant Science & Landscape Architecture

Worker Sub-Type

Faculty Regular

Salary Range

$46,109.83 - $176,206.72

Benefits Summary

For more information on Regular Faculty benefits, select this link.

Background Checks

Offers of employment are contingent on completion of a background check. Information reported by the background check will not automatically disqualify anyone from employment. Before any adverse decision, the finalist will have an opportunity to provide information to the University regarding disclosable background check information. The University reserves the right to rescind the offer of employment or otherwise