Research Nutritionist

Position Summary

The Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center is seeking a highly qualified candidate for a permanent full-time Research Nutritionist to help us with our food-based agricultural research.

The selected candidate will serve as a Research Nutritionist in the research management unit entitled, “Dietary Prevention of Obesity Related Disease Research.”

The selected candidate will also be responsible for, but not limited to:

• Conducting independent, as well as team-based, research
• Planning, implementing and reporting the results of research designed to elucidate the nutritional/health values of meal patterns, meal timing, foods, and practices that influence the availability/bioavailability of food components particularly as they impact metabolic endpoints related to obesity, non-insulin dependent diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
• Involvement in research that will emphasize the study of foods produced from Great Plains agricultural products when studying meal patterns, meal timing, individual foods and components within foods
• Participation in research will involve primarily the use of human feeding studies that may be supported by mechanistic studies using animal models or cell culture.

Requirements

Job requirements include:

• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Credentials as a Registered Dietitian (RD) or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and experience in clinical nutrition research is preferred
• A broad, fundamental knowledge of human nutrition and expertise in a related field such as food science, chemistry, biochemistry, physiology, or medicine is preferred
• An understanding of nutritional science, metabolism, and food composition with an emphasis on methods of clinical assessment, as well as of protocol development, experimental diets and pertinent ethical issues, and the ability to integrate data of a mechanistic and physiological (whole food/whole system) nature is preferred
• The ability to interpret, evaluate, and report research results in peer-reviewed publications and to generate extramural funding is preferred
• Knowledge of analytical chemistry, biochemical analysis, enzymology, instrumental analyses and functional testing of humans in ways that are relevant to nutritional and health outcomes is preferred
• Completion of two-years of post-doctoral research training is preferred

To Apply

To apply, please visit https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/606744500 by August 6, 2021. Direct questions can be sent to Dr. Matthew Picklo at matthew.picklo@usda.gov. USDA/ARS is an equal opportunity employer and provider.

About Us

The Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, located in eastern North Dakota, is staffed by 13 senior scientists and 80 support personnel. It is one of six Human Nutrition Research Centers operated by the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.

The mission of the ARS National Program in Human Nutrition is to conduct basic and applied research to identify and understand how nutrients and other bio-active food components affect human health. The ultimate goal of this research is to identify foods and diets, coupled with genetics and physical activity, that sustain and promote health throughout the life cycle.

Employees will have access to extensive state-of-the-art core research support services in the Center and its community satellite facilities:

• A human performance/body composition laboratory (with DXA, indirect calorimetry, BodPod)
• Controlled-feeding kitchen facilities
• A residential metabolic unit
• A behavioral choice/psychophysiology laboratory
• A community-based laboratory imbedded in a fitness center (with DXA, indirect calorimetry, behavior testing)
• Analytical chemistry, clinical chemistry, and molecular biology core facilities
• And more!