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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 fellowship is available with the Global Immunization Division (GID) 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.

The Polio Eradication Branch (PEB) is one of the few places in the world with knowledge and expertise of polio virus eradication and provides technical expertise and financial assistance to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in areas such as surveillance, program implementation, and outbreak response. PEB provides technical support for polio surveillance; conducts polio vaccine clinical trials to inform global policies on polio vaccine choices and schedules for routine immunization and outbreak response; conducts operational research to improve program implementation activities (e.g., reverse cold chain assessments for specimen transport); and provides assistance in responding to poliovirus outbreaks.

Research Project: Africa is experiencing an unprecedented outbreak of polio caused by circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2). CDC’s Polio Eradication Branch (PEB) is working with international partners to strengthen polio surveillance, perform high-quality vaccination campaigns, and provide surge staffing support, among other activities.

The Fellow will be assigned to 1-3 poliovirus outbreak countries (depending on foreign language skills and the current epidemiology) and will be supported directly by a senior epidemiologist who is the focal point for the country. This will include possible travel to the country to support outbreak response activities and mass vaccination campaigns. Potential projects include (1) evaluating national acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance indicators, (2) conducting operational research to improve vaccination coverage, (3) implementing sentinel site surveillance for adverse events of special interest to collect information on the safety of novel polio vaccine type 2, and (4) assessing the feasibility of co-administering two polio vaccines as part of a clinical trial or outbreak response. The fellow will perform an epidemiologic data analysis within a country, and the outcomes will include a Division-level presentation and an associated manuscript.

Learning Objectives: This opportunity will benefit the Fellow’s professional development as he/she will be able to obtain practical global public health experience, collaborate with partners such as WHO, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF and national ministries of health, improve data analysis and visualization skills, and strengthen oral and written communication. The fellow will practice core epidemiology skills including surveillance evaluation, and develop diplomacy skills through close collaboration with diverse international partners. 

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Elizabeth Davlantes (lyo2@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: As soon as a qualified candidate is identified.  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, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals. Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens Details page of the program website for information about the valid immigration statuses that are acceptable for program participation.

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

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.

Fluency in French or Portuguese is preferred.

• Degree: Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or currently pursuing.
• Discipline(s):
  • Chemistry and Materials Sciences (12 )
  • Communications and Graphics Design (2 )
  • Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (17 )
  • Earth and Geosciences (21 )
  • Engineering (27 )
  • Environmental and Marine Sciences (14 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (48 )
  • Mathematics and Statistics (11 )
  • Physics (16 )
  • Science & Engineering-related (2 )
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences (28 )