The 2Blades Group at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul campus, is seeking an exceptional scientist to join its Corn Mycotoxin Mitigation Program. The overarching goal of the Corn Mycotoxin Mitigation Program is to advance genetic resistance to toxigenic fungi in corn. 2Blades has developed proprietary large-scale trait discovery platforms for identifying functional plant genes for enhanced disease resistance. The successful candidate will join a group that is using the trait discovery platforms to identify and characterize novel resistance genes effective against toxigenic fungi in corn.

 

2Blades is a unique, non-profit, agbiotech organization with leading expertise in plant science. We contribute to the global innovation chain by advancing and delivering genetic resistance to the most critical unmanaged pests and diseases of major crops. We work together with the public and private sectors to reduce crop disease and yield loss, improve farmers’ productivity and incomes, and achieve more sustainable agriculture. Our mission is to benefit large scale and smallholder farmers, and to date we have demonstrated resistance to some of the worst pathogens of wheat, soy, potato, tomato, and citrus.

 

 

Main responsibilities

• Design and execute experiments using protoplasts to accelerate resistance gene discovery.
• Establish fungal elicitors and effectors discovery pipelines.
• Conduct functional analyses of candidate genes using transient and stable expression systems.
• Manage large data sets and perform basic bioinformatics.
• Effectively present results internally and externally as needed.

 

Candidate profile

 

Essential qualifications and skills:

• PhD in plant pathology, fungal biology, plant molecular biology, or related field
• Experience with protein extraction from microbial cultures and advanced protein purification (e.g., FPLC).
• Strong record of scientific achievement in academia or industry.
• An ability to operate both independently and as part of a collaborative, multi-disciplinary, international team.
• Demonstrated excellence in written and oral communication skills for internal and external audiences.
• Ability to undertake occasional travel (domestic and international) related to collaborations and/or seminars.

 

Desirable qualifications:

• Experience with fungal elicitors or effectors discovery.
• Familiarity with transfection assays.

 

Compensation: 2Blades offers a highly competitive compensation package that includes base salary, generous 401k program, and complete medical benefits. Salary is commensurate with experience.

 

Apply: Interested candidates should submit a one-page cover letter and resume via email to Josiah Mutuku at 2BMN@2blades.org. No calls please. The position will remain open until filled.

 

The position will be based in St. Paul, MN. The 2Blades Group is hosted at the University of Minnesota (UMN) Twin Cities campus. UMN has a strong history of advancing science to produce tangible impacts in agriculture and provides an outstanding research environment for studies in plant pathology, pathogen biology, agronomy, and plant genetics. UMN has expertise on the impacts of mycotoxins on animals, exceptional resources in supercomputing, economic modeling of crop disease impact, and mitigation of invasive diseases and pests.

 

The Twin Cities is a vibrant metropolitan community with miles of bike paths, numerous lakes, and the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, which are easily accessible from the campus. There is also easy access to state-of-the-art recreation and wellness facilities, with programs in everything from intramural sports to outdoor recreation and fitness programs.