Position Announcement
Specialty Crops Vegetable Breeder
Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Uvalde (http://uvalde.tamu.edu/) is seeking a highly motivated and visionary plant breeder to lead a national and international vegetable improvement program aimed to develop abiotic stress tolerant specialty vegetable crops. The breeder will develop resource-use efficient (water, nutrient), drought and heat tolerant genotypes in combination with advanced (or existing) germplasm with improved disease resistance, root structure, quality, nutrition, and/or yield traits. The breeder will implement and integrate the latest genomics, phenomics, molecular marker and QTL mapping technologies with fundamental knowledge of physiological and quantitative genetics. Candidate crops to consider for the major production areas of southwest and south Texas are onion, cabbage, broccoli, sweet corn, green beans and leafy vegetables. Industry input will be considered to narrow the program focus to 1 or 2 of these crops.
The scientist will dynamically interact with, and be part of, a multidisciplinary team with expertise in environmental stress physiology, crop eco-physiology, plant breeding, molecular biology, and genomics. The candidate will have ample opportunities to collaborate with AgriLife scientists and centers around the State, including the AgriLife Genomics and Bioinformatics Laboratory (http://www.txgen.tamu.edu/). The applicant will be responsible for discovery, invention disclosures and patent applications in collaboration with the Office of Technology Commercialization.
Qualifications: Ph. D. in plant breeding, physiological genetics, molecular biology, or related field of study. Solid background in genetic analysis, statistics and database software applications is needed. Strong written and oral communication skills, including a demonstrated ability to publish in high impact peer-reviewed journals is required. Clear potential to garner extramural contracts and competitive grants and to participate in collaborative research programs are essential. Commitment to foster graduate student research and training is also a priority.
Texas A&M AgriLife Research (http://agriliferesearch.tamu.edu) is the state’s premier research agency in agriculture, natural resources, and life sciences. A member of The Texas A&M University System, AgriLife Research collaborates with the Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, and many others to help fulfill the A&M System’s land-grant mission of teaching, research, extension, and service.
Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a statement of research interest and experiences, a statement of their motivation to be a part of this program and the names and contact information of four references online to https://greatjobs.tamu.edu/. Review of applications will begin February 25, 2014 and will continue until the position is filled. Please refer to NOV #:07380. Only applications submitted online will be considered.
For additional information contact Dr. Daniel I. Leskovar, Search Committee Chair at 830.278.9151 ext 249 or d-leskovar@tamu.edu. All inquires are Confidential.
The Texas A&M University System and Texas A&M AgriLife Research are equal opportunity employers.