CDC Office and Location: A research training opportunity is currently available with the Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice (DEHSP) within the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), located in Atlanta, Georgia. 

The CDC is one of the major operation components of the Department of Health and Human Services. CDC works to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same.

Research Project: The fellow will focus on asthma epidemiology with a emphasis on health disparities. S/he will be supporting the CCARE (Controlling Childhood Asthma Reducing Emergencies) Initiative by analyzing data on asthma programs and asthma hospitalizations and emergency department visit. S/he will train in data management, analysis and presentation, for both large data sets and smaller programmatic data sets and related statistical and analytical methods. S/he will also be training in program evaluation and manuscript writing. 

Learning Objectives: The fellow will have the opportunity to train and expand their knowledge of asthma epidemiology, evaluation, programs and surveillance, and concepts of health disparities. 

1. Fellow will be able to manage large data sets in preparation for data analysis.
2. Fellow will be able to conduct an epidemiological analysis and provide appropriate interpretation.
3. Fellow will be able to present analytic findings to a public health audience.

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Dr. Kanta Sircar (ddq0 [at] cdc [dot] gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: October 1, 2022.  Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of CDC and is contingent on the availability of funds.

Level of Participation: The appointment is full-time.

Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience.

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR).

ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and CDC. Participants do not become employees of CDC, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

The successful applicant(s) will be required to comply with Environmental, Safety and Health (ES&H) requirements of the hosting facility, including but not limited to, COVID-19 requirements (e.g. facial covering, physical distancing, testing, vaccination).

Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE [dot] CDC [dot] NCEH [at] orau [dot] org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

The qualified candidate should have received a master’s degree in one of the relevant fields (e.g. Public Health with an emphasis in Epidemiology, Chronic Disease Prevention, Asthma, Health Disparities, or Respiratory Health), or be currently pursuing the degree with completion by December 31, 2022. Degree must have been received within five years of the appointment start date.

Preferred skills:

• Some training in data management, epidemiology and biostatistics.
• An understanding of SAS or R
• An understanding of public health programs and evaluation and concepts of health disparities

A research opportunity is available in the Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology- Immediate Office, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Silver Spring, Maryland.

This project will explore trends in nonprescription drug cases captured in the National Poison Data System during COVID-19. We are using the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ (AAPCC) National Poison Data System (NPDS) for this project. We aim to evaluate the impact of FDA’s regulatory activities, which may include labeling changes, Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), or Drug Safety Communication (DSC). The project may provide insight on whether FDA should develop guidance on how to communicate/manage marketed drugs during unprecedented times like the COVID pandemic; and will help improve evidence-based regulatory decisions. Under the guidance of a mentor, the participant will learn how to handle and use the real-world data (RWD) such as patient-level longitudinal data or large cross-sectional data sets. In addition, the participant will learn how to design and propose regulatory research; then conduct and summarize the study results.

This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and FDA. The initial appointment is for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of FDA contingent on the availability of funds. The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. The appointment is full-time at FDA in the Silver Spring, Maryland, area. Participants do not become employees of FDA, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits.

Completion of a successful background investigation by the Office of Personnel Management is required for an applicant to be on-boarded at FDA.  OPM can complete a background investigation only for individuals, including non-US Citizens, who have resided in the US for a total of three of the past five years.

FDA requires ORISE participants to read and sign their FDA Education and Training Agreement within 30 days of his/her start date, setting forth the conditions and expectations for his/her educational appointment at the agency.  This agreement covers such topics as the following:

• Non-employee nature of the ORISE appointment;
• Prohibition on ORISE Fellows performing inherently governmental functions;
• Obligation of ORISE Fellows to convey all necessary rights to the FDA regarding intellectual property conceived or first reduced to practice during their fellowship;
• The fact that research materials and laboratory notebooks are the property of the FDA;
• ORISE fellow’s obligation to protect and not to further disclose or use non-public information.

The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a master’s or doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within five years of the appointment start date. 

Preferred skills:

• Knowledge in statistics and analytical skills
• Skills in SAS

For more information and to apply, please click here.