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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.NCIRD@orau.org. Please include the reference code for this opportunity in your email.

*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

CDC Office and Location: A fellowship opportunity is available at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease (NCIRD), Coronavirus and Respiratory Viruses Laboratory Branch (CRVLB), with the Zoonosis and Discovery Team, 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.

Research Project: The candidate will participate in all aspects of the respiratory virus laboratory’s research, including detection, characterization, and molecular epidemiology of known, emerging and novel human respiratory virus from outbreaks or sporadic cases of respiratory diseases. The candidate will collaborate with a growing team of virologists, bioinformaticians, informaticians, and epidemiologists.

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

1. Participate in laboratory research which will result in the development and application of advanced molecular techniques and high through sequencing analysis which will detect and characterize both known and novel emerging viruses
2. Participate in designing new protocols, including analysis of scientific literature and protocols, testing new reagents and assays to develop and validate a suite of advanced molecular methods to provide comprehensive, pan-viral detection and genome sequencing capability
3. Apply optimized and validated various molecular techniques to rapidly identify and characterize viral agents in support of outbreak investigation of both known and unknown viral etiology, human disease surveillance and etiology study, and zoonotic emerging disease surveillance study
4. Collaborate closely with bioinformaticians to evaluate available bioinformatics tools to enhance existing NGS data analysis pipelines, provide data analysis to sequencing data generated from sequencing including Sanger sequencing, metagenomic sequencing and high through targeted genomic sequencing
5. Prepare and deliver written and oral reports in both informal and formal settings.
6. Prepare results for publication in a variety of journals
7. Participates in activities associated with lab safety, specimen and laboratory quality management system (QMS)

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Nia Mims (ngm7@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: October 30, 2023.  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.NCIRD@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

The qualified candidate should have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields (e.g. Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Virology), or be currently pursuing the degree with completion before December 31, 2023. Degree must have been received within the past five years.

Preferred skills:

1. Strong background and knowledge in molecular biology, virology, microbiology and molecular evolution
2. Laboratory experience in developing, validating, implementing PCR-, NGS-based and other molecular assays
3. Strong verbal and written communication skills in English
4. Experience working with infectious materials in biosafety level 2 or above laboratory
5. Experience with bioinformatics and molecular evolution are a plus

• Degree: Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or anticipated to be received by 12/31/2023 11:59:00 PM.
• Discipline(s):
  • Communications and Graphics Design (2 )
  • Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (4 )
  • Engineering (1 )
  • Environmental and Marine Sciences (5 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (8 )

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.)