Research Assistantships, North and South Dakota State Universities

Research Assistantships Available:

Three research assistantships are available for students to pursue their doctoral studies, two based at North Dakota State University (NDSU), Fargo, ND, and one based at South Dakota State University (SDSU), Brookings, SD. Funding is available for 3 years starting immediately, subject to adequate student performance. Additional support may be available depending on funding availability and project performance. The students will join the Civil Engineering, Materials and Nanotechnology program, or the Environmental Conservation Sciences program at NDSU, or the Plant Sciences program at SDSU.

Qualifications Desired:

Candidates with MS degrees in any field of science and engineering can apply. Experience and background in the specific areas related to the project will be an advantage but not necessary, and candidates should be prepared to learn and work in new areas, outside their present educational and research backgrounds. Students with computer science background who want to pursue a degree in bioinformatics related areas are encouraged to apply for the SDSU position.

Project Description:

The goal of the collaborative research project is to understand the molecular level interactions of two specific engineered nanomaterials (zinc oxide and carbon nanotube) with crop plants through in-vivo, in-vitro, genetic, genomic, and molecular modeling experiments, and relate the information to food security. This project will greatly improve the understanding of the mechanisms underlying plant uptake of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) and their fate and transport within the plants. The main focus of this research will be on spinach (Spinacea oleracea). In addition, uptake and translocation of nanoparticles in rice (Oryza sativa) will also be studied. Understanding the mechanisms of uptake, and fate and transport will help us assess the threats to food security from ENPs and in developing methods to prevent negative impacts of ENPs.

Specific objectives of this project are:

1. Study of uptake and translocation of ENPs in two, very different crops: spinach (dryland, dicot) and rice (wetland, monocot)

2. Establishing relationships between macro-level or whole plant behaviors (uptake and translocation) of ENPs with molecular level (genomic) responses

3. Study of interactions of ENPs and plant cells and correlate the findings with molecular level experimental and modeling data

4. Characterizing the ENPs at various stages during plant uptake and during internalization by plant cells

5. Investigating the effects of ENPs at the genomic level in plants

(6) Development of molecular level models to predict the impacts of ENPs on plants

Work Environment: The students will work in an interdisciplinary environment with reputed researchers at NDSU and SDSU. The NDSU researchers involved in this project include: Drs. Dinesh Katti (dinesh.katti@ndsu.edu), Kalpana Katti (kalpana.katti@ndsu.edu), Marinus Otte (marinus.otte@ndsu.edu), Donna Jacob (donna.jacob@ndsu.edu), and Achintya Bezbaruah<mailto:a.bezbaruah@ndsu.edu>. Dr. Jose Gonzalez<mailto:jose.gonzalez@sdstate.edu> will lead the research efforts at SDSU.

Contact Information: Please send enquiries to Dr. Achintya Bezbaruah (PI): a.bezbaruah@ndsu.edu / 701-231-7461. Those interested in the opportunity at SDSU should contact Dr. Jose L. Gonzalez (jose.gonzalez@sdstate.edu).