Housing Support: On-site housing available. 

Housing Description: On-site housing is available. Housing consists of an efficiency apartment located on the second floor above the main office and centrally located at the NEFC facility. The apartment is modest and does not meet ADA accessibility standards. All buildings on site, including the Genetics Laboratory, are within an easy few minutes’ walk from the apartment. To access neighboring towns for shopping and entertainment, private transportation (personal vehicle or ride-share) is required. Public transportation is limited in the area.

Valid Driver’s License: Not Required

Transportation Support Description: Public transportation is not available. A personal vehicle or alternate mode of transportation (such as ridesharing via Uber, Lyft, etc.) at the Fellow’s expense, is required for commuting to and from work and personal needs. There is no access to public transportation at or near the NEFC. Ride share companies service the area, but access to neighboring towns for basic shopping needs are 25+ miles round trip.

Position Description: The Northeast Fishery Center (NEFC) is one of seven U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fish Technology Centers and is composed of the Lamar Fish Health Center, Lamar National Fish Hatchery, and the Conservation Genetics Laboratory. Located in rural Lamar, PA, the NEFC is an exciting duty location with a variety of outdoor opportunities and access to neighboring towns of State College and Lock Haven. The Conservation Genetics Laboratory at NEFC is a state-of-the-art facility fully equipped to engage in traditional population genetics projects and those centered on environmental DNA.

Genetic tools using environmental DNA (eDNA) are rapidly advancing and finding application in invasive species detection, endangered species, biodiversity assessment, food web interactions and a host of other areas of conservation need. Continued advancement of eDNA tools and the diversification of species they target, is reliant on access to high quality genetic data. This data generally involves sequencing of the mitochondrial genome, a region of circular DNA approximately 16,500 base pair in length which is the target of most eDNA assays.

The successful candidate will focus on the assembly and annotation of mitochondrial genomes from raw DNA sequence data. Completion of the project will provide training on the genetic analysis software package Geneious and sequence submission to the online public repository GenBank. It is anticipated that 20 mitochondrial DNA genomes will be completed and submitted to GenBank over the course of the internship.

In addition, the Fellow will edit existing NEFC protocols for clarity and be responsible for producing a draft protocol detailing the GenBank submission process. The successful candidate will also obtain the raw DNA sequencing data needed for mitochondrial genome assembly. The Fellow will interact directly and receive training from at least three members of the NEFC staff who have overlapping expertise in this project.

Primary duties include:

• Manipulate large genetic datasets
• Assemble genetic data and ensure quality
• Maintain detailed and accurate notes
• Annotate genetic data based on similarity of similar features found in public repositories
• Communicate with and submit data to public repositories of genetic data
• Edit and draft technical protocols for genetic data analysis

Minimum Education Level: Open for consideration to undergraduate rising seniors/seniors and graduate students who will not complete their degree requirements before September 22, 2024.

Fields of Study:

• Biological Sciences
• Education/Outreach
• Molecular and Cellular Biology, Genetics

Working Conditions Requirements: Candidates must be fluent in both written and spoken English.