The Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications implements the IAEA’s Major Programme 2, “Nuclear Techniques for Development and Environmental Protection”. This Major Programme comprises individual programmes on food and agriculture, human health, water resources, environment and radiation technologies. These programmes are supported by laboratories in Seibersdorf, Monaco and Vienna. The Major Programme’s objective is to enhance the capacity of Member States to meet basic human needs and to assess and manage the marine and terrestrial environments through the use of nuclear and isotopic techniques in sustainable development programmes.

The Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications implements the IAEA’s Major Programme 2, “Nuclear Techniques for Development and Environmental Protection”. This Major Programme comprises individual programmes on food and agriculture, human health, water resources, environment and radiation technologies. These programmes are supported by laboratories in Seibersdorf, Monaco and Vienna. The Major Programme’s objective is to enhance the capacity of Member States to meet basic human needs and to assess and manage the marine and terrestrial environments through the use of nuclear and isotopic techniques in sustainable development programmes.
The Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture assists Member States of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the IAEA in using nuclear techniques and related technologies to improve food security, alleviate poverty and promote sustainable agriculture. The Joint Centre consists of five Sections, each with an associated laboratory (located in Seibersdorf, 45 km south-east of Vienna), in the areas of: animal production and health; plant breeding and genetics; insect pest control; soil and water management and crop nutrition; and food safety and control.
The Plant Breeding and Genetics Section and Laboratory assist Member States with the development of mutation induction methodologies and integrated applications of mutation breeding techniques for crop improvement and biodiversity, contributing to the sustainable intensification of crop production systems.

The Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications implements the IAEA’s Major Programme 2, “Nuclear Techniques for Development and Environmental Protection”. This Major Programme comprises individual programmes on food and agriculture, human health, water resources, environment and radiation technologies. These programmes are supported by laboratories in Seibersdorf, Monaco and Vienna. The Major Programme’s objective is to enhance the capacity of Member States to meet basic human needs and to assess and manage the marine and terrestrial environments through the use of nuclear and isotopic techniques in sustainable development programmes.
The Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture assists Member States of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the IAEA in using nuclear techniques and related technologies to improve food security, alleviate poverty and promote sustainable agriculture. The Joint Centre consists of five Sections, each with an associated laboratory (located in Seibersdorf, 45 km south-east of Vienna), in the areas of: animal production and health; plant breeding and genetics; insect pest control; soil and water management and crop nutrition; and food safety and control.
The Plant Breeding and Genetics Section and Laboratory assist Member States with the development of mutation induction methodologies and integrated applications of mutation breeding techniques for crop improvement and biodiversity, contributing to the sustainable intensification of crop production systems.

Main Purpose

The aim of this consultancy is to offer expert guidance in the development of efficient and rapid pathogen detection tools tailored to tropical crops, notably banana, chickpea, lentil and coffee. This initiative is strategically devised to address the emerging challenges associated with climate change and the timely detection of pathogens for effective disease management. In addition, the consultancy will involve developing and deploying functional genomics approaches for genetic association studies in mutants for trait discovery including identification of key genes and
pathways involved in plant-pathogen interactions.

Functions / Key Results Expected

Provide technical expertise in developing various diagnostic assays, including qPCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), droplet digital PCR(ddPCR), and other cutting-edge approaches, to detect pathogens such as Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris, Macrophomina spp., Magnaporthe spp., Stemphylium botryosum, and Hemileia vastatrix.
– Carry out comparative analyses of assay sensitivity and specificity to determine the most effective diagnostic method for each target pathogens and validate assays using field and laboratory samples to ensure reliable and accurate detection of target pathogens.
– Develop molecular markers tailored for genetic analysis and genotyping purposes, including Sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR), Cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS), Kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP), and ddPCR-based markers and validate these to ensure accuracy and reliability in genotyping assays.
– Provide input in developing functional genomics platforms for characterizing genetic traits using CRISPR/Cas9 to validate candidate genes for trait discovery and deployment towards mutation breeding applications.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Required –

Skills and Expertise

•    Crop Production

•    Plant Breeding and Genetics

Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s Degree – Advanced university degree in Plant Breeding and Genetics or any related field of Plant Sciences or Plant Biology/ Biotechnology.
• Minimum of five years of relevant work experience.
• Expert with proven skills and experience in disease diagnostics and functional genomics approaches.
• Proficiency in plant transformation techniques, tissue culture, and regeneration protocols for both model and
  crop plants.
• Expertise in molecular cloning techniques and in designing and constructing expression vectors.
• Experience in establishing enabling technology platform for implementing clustered regularly interspaced short
  palindromic repeats /CRISPR-associated protein 9 pipelines for functional studies in plants.
• Experience in next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches, including amplicon sequencing or targeted
  enrichment sequencing for high-throughput mutation detection.

Remuneration

The remuneration for this consultancy is a daily fee of up to a maximum of €250, based on qualifications and experience. In case duty travel is required within the assignment, a daily subsistence allowance (DSA) and travel costs are provided. Health coverage and pension fund are the responsibility of the incumbent.