Computational Biologist — ML for Avian Influenza Surveillance

Oak Ridge Associated Universities; Gainesville (FL); On-site; USD 75,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

USDA ARS Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Unit in Gainesville, FL seeks a doctoral candidate to work on PCR-based diagnostics, sequencing assays, and structural modeling related to avian influenza and mammalian adaptation. The two-year, full-time fellowship emphasizes ML, data analysis, and collaborative software development.

You will work with AlphaFold-based modeling, glycan-aware docking, and MD simulations, with a mentor guiding balance between projects based on strengths.

Qualifications

• PhD in biology, molecular biology, bioinformatics, computational biology, ML, biophysics, or related field.
• Degree must be recent or expected by 1/30/2027.

Responsibilities

• Develop ML models predicting primer-template mismatches and assay performance.

Skills

PCR design

Primer design

Molecular diagnostics

AlphaFold

ESMFold

OpenMM

GROMACS

AMBER

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Python

Rust

Git/Nextflow

Containerization

Slurm

Virology background

First-author publication

Education

Doctoral degree in Biology/related field

Tools

AlphaFold

ESMFold

OpenMM

GROMACS

AMBER force fields

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Git

Nextflow

Containerization

Slurm

Job description

USDA ARS Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Unit in Gainesville, FL seeks a doctoral candidate to work on PCR-based diagnostics, sequencing assays, and structural modeling related to avian influenza and mammalian adaptation. The two-year, full-time fellowship emphasizes ML, data analysis, and collaborative software development.

You will work with AlphaFold-based modeling, glycan-aware docking, and MD simulations, with a mentor guiding balance between projects based on strengths.