Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Canadian Organic Vegetable Improvement Project

Job Category

Job Profile

Job Title

Department

Compensation Range

Posting End Date

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

The expected pay for this position is $60,000 annual salary.

The Rieseberg Lab in the Faculty of Science at the University of British Columbia invites applications for a full-time Postdoctoral Research Fellowship preferably beginning April 1, 2025, with an initial 2-year term, potentially renewable for an additional 2 years. The position is located in the Department of Botany in the Faculty of Science (Vancouver campus). The successful candidate will have an opportunity to learn about innovative approaches to organic plant breeding using cutting-edge genomics and ecophysiological research, and also be able to work on the largest organic participatory plant breeding project in the country.

Candidates must have obtained a PhD within the past 5 years, preferably in plant breeding/genetics, crop biology, or a similar field, and preference will be given to those with experience in participatory and community-based research and/or organic agriculture. Candidates with demonstrated experience working with underrepresented communities, grassroots agricultural and gardening communities, and/or are from different cultural backgrounds, are encouraged to apply.

The candidate will be part of a larger team supporting the Canadian Organic Vegetable Improvement (CANOVI) project, a multi-year community-based research project launched in 2018 by the UBC Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security (a program of SeedChange), and FarmFolk CityFolk. The goal of CANOVI is to contribute to the resilience and growth of Canada's organic vegetable sector through the characterization and development of varieties that excel in Canadian organic farming systems. Working with regional farming organizations, the CANOVI team coordinates a network of on-farm variety trials in which farmers generate and share data about regional variety performance to assess which varieties of vegetables are suitable for regional vegetable and vegetable seed production. CANOVI also supports several participatory plant breeding projects, with a focus on continuing selection of several Nantes-type carrot populations with excellent flavour and early vigor. The successful candidate will also coordinate research around understanding carrot adaptation to extreme and variable climates, by using genomic and functional ecology approaches. For more information see ubcfarm.ubc.ca/canovi/ and seedsecurity.ca/canovi.

Responsibilities include:

(1) collaborating with a nation-wide research team of community partners to support a network of on-farm trials in organic vegetable crops.

(2) directing replicated variety trials at the UBC Farm to support this network, in collaboration with UBC Farm staff.

(3) leading participatory carrot and salad greens breeding projects with the UBC Farm as hub site in collaboration with the Organic Seed Alliance in the US.

(4) coordinating genomic and functional trait analyses in carrots in collaboration with the Rieseberg Lab and the Isaac Lab at the University of Toronto, respectively.

(5) investigating the way our participatory seed research network can best support growers in adapting to the multiple, intersecting stresses of climate change, in collaboration with the Wittman Food Sovereignty Research Group at UBC.

The candidate will recruit and mentor undergraduate students to assist with variety trials and plant breeding activities. The candidate will also deliver knowledge mobilization for this project, including farmer-oriented research briefs and presentations, along with academic papers on integrating genomic selection strategies with participatory plant breeding, social factors influencing farmer adaptation to climate change, or other topics appropriate to their expertise.

Interested candidates should submit one PDF including a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and the names and contact information of three references to: Dr. Loren Rieseberg, Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, loren.rieseberg@botany.ubc.ca.

The application deadline is January 10, 2025, and interviews will be conducted January 20-24, 2025. Only those asked for an interview will be contacted.

Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the BC Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.