Post Doctoral Scientist-Forage Microbiome

BecA-ILRI Hub program at ILRI has been working on endophytes and plant associated microbes of Brachiaria grass (Brachiariaspp.), an important tropical forage of African origin for the past seven years. We have established a collection of over 900 microbes, documented microbial communities, and subset of these microbes have been tested for their potential roles in plant growth, development and resilience to climate change in laboratory and greenhouse environments. Currently, we are examining roles of these microbes for drought tolerance, nutrient acquisition, disease resistance and biomass production of Brachiaria grass in field environment. This research aims at exploitation and use of native plant beneficial microbes to increase availability of quality forage to smallholder livestock farmers in Africa by improving resilience of Brachiaria grass against multiple abiotic and biotic stresses.

Responsibilities

Microbial isolation, identification and characterization, inoculum preparation, plant inoculations, documenting agronomic and physiological performance.

Conduct research to understand how naturally occurring plant beneficial microorganism(s) contribute to the drought tolerance, nutrient acquisition, disease resistance and overall performance of the host plants.

Develops and apply environmental microbiology techniques to study dynamics of naturally occurring microbial communities over time.

Participate in team discussions aimed at the design of new experiments, reports on results of research including publishing in peer review scientific journals, giving presentations at institutional meetings and national and international conferences.

Contribute in grant writing

Co-supervise research associate, research officers and visiting scientists

Job Requirements
Required education
: Bachelor's degree

Required relevant work experience
: 3 years

Required languages:
English (Spoken: fluent | Written: fluent)
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