How to Apply:

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A complete application consists of:

• An application
• Transcripts – Click here for detailed information about acceptable transcripts
• A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list
• One educational or professional recommendation. Your application will be considered incomplete, and will not be reviewed until one recommendation is submitted.

All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.

*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

CDC Office and Location: A research opportunity is available with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in Chicago, Illinois.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), based in Atlanta, Georgia, is a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ATSDR protects communities from harmful health effects related to exposure to natural and man-made hazardous substances. We do this by responding to environmental health emergencies; investigating emerging environmental health threats; conducting research on the health impacts of hazardous waste sites; and building capabilities of and providing actionable guidance to state and local health partners. This project is within ATSDR's Office of Capacity Development and Applied Prevention Science, in the Community Engagement Science and Intervention Section (CESIS). CESIS' National Land Reuse Health Program (Land Reuse Program) is the home for this project. Community health is an important part of land revitalization. ATSDR works to include health considerations in brownfield redevelopment and land reuse. ATSDR’s Land Reuse Program promotes health, community involvement, partnerships, communication and education. The ORISE project is in Chicago. More information about the Land Reuse Program is available here: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/brownfields/index.html

Research Project: The selected participant will learn about human health effects resulting from exposure to chemical contamination associated with blighted properties, often referred to as brownfields. The participant will gain a deeper understanding about toxic substances in the environment and potential human health risks from exposure to such environmental hazards. The participant will have the opportunity to learn and apply instructional design and adult learning principles in an established national program that provides online and live environmental health education to the environmental health workforce, planners, community members, and students in public and environmental health fields. The participant will be mentored by ATSDR staff who are experts in health education, health risk communication, and environmental health and who specialize in creation and
delivery of online and live educational programming. The mentor will provide guidance and debriefing during and at the completion of assignments.

Activities the participant will learn from and be mentored in are:

• Engaging subject matter experts in establishing learning objectives, developing appropriate content, and evaluating learner achievements within educational capacity-building interventions.
• Learning and implementing professional health education accreditation procedures.
• Applying instructional principles to materials developed for the environmental health workforce, planners, community members, and students.
• Selecting and reviewing the literature on environmental and toxicological health topics.
• Drafting educational content to meet learner objectives in content delivery.
• Developing post-tests to reinforce learning. 
• Conducting formative evaluation of online and live instruction.
• Interacting with graphic artists and web designers to produce online educational modules that are 508-compliant (as needed).
• Participating in virtual and live environmental health education, as needed (some limited travel may be required as part of mentor's team).

Learning Objectives: Learning objectives for the participant will include:

• Addressing environmental exposure risks to prevent human health effects.
• Engaging in health-focused redevelopment planning to improve health outcomes.
• Applying health promotion strategies to reduce exposure risks of community populations.
• Applying adult learning theory, instructional design principles, and risk communication methods in the development of environmental health educational materials.
• Increasing awareness of and skills in addressing environmental justice and health inequity.
• Synthesizing and translating scientific content so that it is understandable and useful for a variety of audiences.

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Laurel Berman (fjq0@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: Early 2024. 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. The stipend range is: $30.49/hr (GS 9-1, Masters, $63,633/yr), to $36.89/hr (GS 11-1, PhD, $76,990/yr), to $44.22/hr (GS 12-1 PhD plus 2 years’ experience, $92,279/yr).  

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

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.CDC.ATSDR@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

The qualified candidate should be have received a master's or doctoral degree in the one of the relevant fields (e.g. Public Health, Environmental Studies, Environmental Health, or Environmental Science), or be currently pursuing to receive the degree by June 2024. Degree must have been received within the past five years.

Preferred skills:

• Experience in community engagement (e.g., a class project or specific course, volunteer work)
• Basic understanding of equity/diversity/inclusion/accessibility
• Should feel comfortable in diverse environments
• Strong writing skills and an ability to write in plain language appropriate to the communities they may interact with
• Comfortable conducting basic research and creating literature reviews
• Good listening skills

• Citizenship: LPR or U.S. Citizen
• Degree: Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or anticipated to be received by 6/30/2024 11:59:00 PM.
• Discipline(s):
  • Communications and Graphics Design (2 )
  • Earth and Geosciences (1 )
  • Environmental and Marine Sciences (5 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (10 )
  • Other Non-Science & Engineering (4 )
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 )
• Veteran Status: Veterans Preference, degree received within the last 120 month(s).

I certify that I have not previously been employed by CDC or by a contractor working directly for CDC.  I understand that CDC does not permit individuals with a prior employment relationship with CDC or its contractors to participate as trainees in the ORISE program. (Exceptions may be granted for individuals who, since the previous CDC employment, have obtained a new STEM degree which necessitates training in a new field.)