Associate Scientist

ICRISAT seeks applications from motivated individuals for the position of Associate Scientist – Cell & Molecular Biology and Trait Engineering to support activities in the Centre for Gene Editing under the Global Research Program of Accelerated Crop Improvement. This is a National position and the incumbent will be based at Headquarters of ICRISAT at Patancheru, Hyderabad, India.

ICRISAT is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi- arid or dryland tropics has over 2 billion people and 644 million of these are the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT and its partners help empower these disadvantaged populations to overcome poverty, hunger and a degraded environment through better agricultural production systems.

ICRISAT is headquartered at Patancheru near Hyderabad, India, with two regional hubs and eight country offices in sub-Saharan Africa. ICRISAT envisions a prosperous, food-secure and resilient dryland tropics. Its mission is to reduce poverty, hunger, malnutrition and environmental degradation in the dryland tropics. ICRISAT conducts research on its mandate crops of chickpea, pigeonpea, groundnut, sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet in the arid and semi-arid tropics. The Institute focuses its work on the drylands and in protecting the environment. Tropical dryland areas are usually seen as resource-poor and perennially beset by shocks such as drought, thereby trapping dryland communities in poverty and hunger and making them dependent on external aid. Please visit – www.icrisat.org

Responsibilities:

·         Substantial contributions to the integrated crop strategy in ICRISAT by innovatively identifying, prioritizing, and targeting key research issues of Trait Engineering.

·         Contribute regularly and significantly to top quality international scientific literature, and demonstrate impact of research and delivery activities.

·         Collaborate with national and international partners and stakeholders to achieve the required impact of the institute’s research agenda in the Trait Engineering operations.

·         Prioritizing and developing strategies to target constraints in grain legumes (Groundnut, Pigeon pea and Chickpea) and dryland cereals (Sorghum, Pearl Millet and Finger millet) for which no genetic traits are available in conventional plant breeding applications;

·         Developing tissue culture tools towards increased regeneration efficiency, rapid screening, protocols for genetic and genome engineering as well as translational research activities;

·         Genetic transformation of grain legumes (groundnut, pigeon pea and chickpea), and a broader understanding of approaches for target identification aimed at integrating useful traits including enhanced disease and pest resistance, abiotic stress tolerance, nutrient/water use efficiency and nutritional enhancement;

·         Contribute in translational research activities including biosafety/quality assessment of edited/transgenic products, and building the capacities of stakeholders in different target countries of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa to comply with the internationally and nationally laid out biosafety regulations and stewardship aspects in the public sector transgenic crops;

·         Integrate scientific innovations to design and build efficient regeneration/stable transformation protocols to generate robust tissue culture pipelines using existing as well as newer technologies with special focus on ICRISAT mandate crops;

Essential Requirements:

The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of the following skills, knowledge, experience, and personal characteristics

·         Minimum Education: The candidate must have crop experience with in depth genetics understanding and should hold a PhD in Biotechnology or related discipline of Cell and Molecular Biology and Trait Engineering (Agriculture / Biological Sciences)

·         Experience: Min 3-5 years of Post-PhD experience is required in the area of Cell and Molecular Biology with high quality research outputs including an excellent record of publication in high impact journals.

·         Demonstrated ability to write proposals and resource mobilization in the area of Cell and Molecular Biology, regeneration or similar areas.

·         Well connected with institutions, organization in the relevant areas of research.

·         Experience of leading multicultural, multi-disciplinary scientific teams and ability to work across diverse environments and cultures.

·         Excellent written and oral skills in English. Knowledge of other international languages, especially French, will be an advantage

Skills and Knowledge

·         Leadership abilities, commitment towards organizational goals and strong interpersonal skills.

·         A deep understanding of tissue culture in crops of agricultural importance with a basic understanding of molecular biology and genetics.

·         Specialized technical skills in plant regeneration/transformation across recalcitrant/difficult crops, Genetic Engineering, Crop Improvement, Molecular Biology, etc.

·         Proactive and achievement oriented.

·         Collaborate with all ICRISAT research units across all locations and various NARS and international research institutions in providing Biotechnology science support and provide reliable backstopping to multidisciplinary teams of researchers during the research cycle.

·         Contribute to research publications of scientists and research scholars, and documentation of in the regeneration/tissue culture/Trait Engineering/Cell and Molecular Biology.

·         Track record of peer reviewed publications in agricultural research and allied sciences.

·        Proactive and independent problem solver, and an excellent team player.

General:

This is a contractual position for a period of 12 months.

How to apply:

Applicants should apply on or before 18 October 2023, with their latest Resume, and the names and contact information of three references that are knowledgeable about their professional qualifications and work experience. All applications will be acknowledged; however only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

ICRISAT is an equal opportunity employer