CDC Enteric Disease Epidemiology Research Assistant (ERA) Fellowship

Organization
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Reference Code
CDC-DFWED-2022-0058
How to Apply

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A complete application consists of:
  • An application
  • 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.

Description

*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis, and this posting will remain open until filled.

CDC Office and LocationA research opportunity is available with the National Surveillance Team (NST) in the Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch (EDEB) in the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases in the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases 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.

CDC's National Surveillance Team (NST) is housed within the Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch (EDEB). NST conducts surveillance of enteric conditions including listeriosis, botulism, salmonellosis, shigellosis, campylobacteriosis, cholera, vibriosis, S. Typhi and S. Paratyphi infections, and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections. The ERA fellowship position will provide the opportunity to develop organizational support skills and programmatic activities of the team and branch. The ERA fellow will further have the opportunity to learn and enhance scientific and technical skills by assisting with data collection and management, analysis of surveillance trends, communication with public health partners (e.g., state public health departments, federal agencies), public health informatics, and report development

Research Project: Under the guidance of a mentor, the participant will be trained in the following activities:  

Collaborate closely with epidemiologists to support national surveillance systems (80%):  

  • Support with data entry and records management  
  • Support with data requests and transmitting routine data to partner agencies 
  • Serving as a back-up database manager 
  • Performing data cleaning and descriptive data analyses, as needed 
  • Answering phone and email inquiries from public health partners and the public 

Technical and team coordination activities (20%):  

  • Coordinating internal and external stakeholder meetings 
  • Helping document responses to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests 
  • Maintaining internal and external Microsoft SharePoint sites, including project tracking and maintaining user permissions 
  • Liaising with the EDEB communications team about scientific publications and public messaging  

Additional activities may include analysis, writing, public health communications, efficiency improvements, policy, and informatics support, depending on available projects and candidate’s interest and abilities. The ERA will meet regularly with supervisors to discuss what they have learned and will have the opportunity to receive mentorship from professionals at various stages in their public health careers.  

Learning Objectives: This opportunity will provide the participant, under the guidance of a mentor, to gain hands-on experience that support their academic and professional goals. Additionally, the participant will engage in research and activities in several areas.  These will include, but are not limited to:

  • Developing organizational support skills
  • Participating in programmatic activities of the team and branch
  • Apply and enhance scientific and technical skills
  • Support data collection, management and analysis of surveillance trends
  • Collaborate with public health partners (e.g., state public health departments, federal agencies), public health informatics, and report development  

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Renita Blake (eoi9@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.NCEZID@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a bachelor's degree in one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within the past five years.

Preferred skills:
  • Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook)
  • Excellent organizational, communication, and writing skills
  • Strong problem-solving skills
  • Willingness to learn new skills and take on challenges
  • Desired qualifications include experience in public health or other customer-service oriented work
  • Experience with an emphasis on public health surveillance and/or conducting analyses using statistical computing software such as SAS, R, Python, SQL
  • Experience with SharePoint and project management software (e.g. JIRA)
Eligibility Requirements
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree received within the last 60 months or currently pursuing.
  • Discipline(s):
    • Business (5 )
    • Chemistry and Materials Sciences (12 )
    • 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 )
    • Social and Behavioral Sciences (29 )
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