CDC Human Pathogenic Parasites Fellowship

Organization
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Reference Code
CDC-CGH-2021-0048
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.

If you have questions, send an email to ORISE.CDC.CGH@orau.org. Please include the reference code for this opportunity in your email.

Application Deadline
4/2/2021 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone
Description

*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

A research opportunity is currently available with the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (DPDM), within the Center for Global Health (CGH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) located in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (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.

As part of the Advanced Molecular Detection collaboration between the Biotechnology Core Facility Branch (BCFB) of the Division of Scientific Resources and Parasitic Diseases Branch (PDB) of the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, a bioinformatic approach will be developed for identification of novel antigen targets in human pathogenic parasites of public health importance. This approach will involve eukaryotic genome and proteome assembly and annotation, followed by antigen discovery. Data from this evaluation will allow for the identification of candidate peptides for detection of antibody responses to human parasitic diseases.

The participant will collaborate closely with BCFB to learn novel bioinformatic processes to identify diagnostic markers for parasitic diseases, including multi-chromosome genome assembly, annotation, curation, and proteomic data mining. The participant will learn alongside an interdisciplinary team validating and implementing these bioinformatic approaches for parasitic serological assay development and related project deliverables.

Under the guidance of a mentor, the participant will be involved in the following training activities:

  • Eukaryotic genome assembly and characterization
  • Automated annotation and manual curation
  • Development, validation and implementation of bioinformatics workflows for streamlined analysis, quality control, and curation of whole-genome sequencing and proteomic data
  • Identification of candidate diagnostic markers to differentiate between species and strains for clinical diagnostic application
  • Contribution to manuscripts and NCBI data submission

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 CDC. The initial appointment can be up to one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of CDC 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 CDC in the Atlanta, Georgia, area. Participants do not become employees of CDC, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within five years of the appointment start date.

Preferred skills:

  • Training and experience on the analysis and interpretation of data from bioinformatics and next-generation sequencing pipelines
  • Use of genomic and proteomic analysis software
  • Experience with curation of whole genome sequencing and proteomic data and associated metadata for public distribution is preferred
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills, excellent organizational and analytical skills, ability to handle multiple priorities
  • Ability to work collaboratively with multi-disciplinary teams
Eligibility Requirements
  • Degree: Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 month(s).
  • Discipline(s):
    • Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (1 )
    • Life Health and Medical Sciences (8 )
    • Mathematics and Statistics (1 )
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