EPA Human Exposure Assessment to Air Pollution Fellowship
To submit your application, scroll to the bottom of this opportunity and click APPLY.
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
- Two educational or professional recommendations. 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.
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*Applications may be reviewed on a rolling-basis and this posting could close before the deadline.
EPA Office/Lab and Location: An on-site research opportunity is currently available at the EPA Office of Air and Radiation (OAR). This research opportunity is with the Integrated Health Assessment Branch (IHAB) within the Impacts and Ambient Standards Division (IASD) and will be located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
The mission of EPA is to protect human health and the environment. EPA works to ensure that: Americans have clean air, land and water; National efforts to reduce environmental risks are based on the best available scientific information; Federal laws protecting human health and the environment are administered and enforced fairly, effectively and as Congress intended; Environmental stewardship is integral to U.S. policies concerning natural resources, human health, economic growth, energy, transportation, agriculture, industry, and international trade, and these factors are similarly considered in establishing environmental policy; All parts of society have access to accurate information sufficient to effectively participate in managing human health and environmental risks; Contaminated lands and toxic sites are cleaned up; and chemicals in the marketplace are reviewed for safety.
IASD provides expert evaluation and analysis of health, environmental, and economic impacts of air pollution to inform national regulations. The division leads reviews of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) and conducts quantitative assessments of exposure and risk for air pollutants. IHAB is responsible for scientific assessment activities related to the health effects of air pollutants within the Integrated Science Assessments (ISAs). The ISAs provide the scientific foundation for EPA regulatory decisions on the NAAQS.
Research Project: The selected participant will report to IHAB. This opportunity is suited for someone who is seeking an opportunity to contribute to high impact policy relevant research and scientific assessments in support of EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment.
The participant may be engaged in one or more of the following training opportunities:
- Applying systematic review methods to human air pollution exposure data, including development and application of literature search and screening strategies, study evaluation, synthesis of evidence, and qualitative or quantitative analyses of human air pollution exposure data to inform scientific assessments and environmental policy development and implementation.
- Developing and applying the skills needed to prepare ISAs. These may include participation as a section coauthor, i.e., reviewing and analyzing exposure data to conduct qualitative and quantitative assessments of exposure routes, describing factors that may affect personal exposure concentrations, and determining impacts of exposure measurement error on epidemiologic study results.
- Devising scientific approaches for IHAB’s science-based assessment process, and interacting with EPA scientists to improve assessment methodologies.
- Identifying and researching cross-cutting scientific issues that arise in EPA assessments, rule-makings, and policy development, such as application of methodologies and procedures for calculations.
- Conducting independent human exposure science research projects, while receiving guidance from the EPA mentor, with the potential opportunity to author peer-reviewed publications or develop conference presentations.
- Synthesizing technical and policy information for presentation to EPA managers and appropriate stakeholder groups.
Learning Objectives: Under the guidance of the mentor, the selected participant will have the opportunity to be involved in a variety of projects that can include qualitative or quantitative analyses of human exposure data. In particular, the selected participant will learn approaches for the evaluation, analysis, and synthesis of exposure science information to inform EPA scientific assessments. The participant will also gain an understanding of how scientific evidence is used to develop and inform EPA program priorities, rule-making, and decision-making processes.
The selected participant will observe, participate with, and gain knowledge from staff in IHAB, IASD, and potentially from other EPA Offices. The research participant will have opportunities to conduct quantitative or qualitative analyses that will contribute to EPA scientific assessments, briefings for stakeholders, and potentially result in conference presentations or peer-reviewed publications. Through this process the participant will learn about EPA’s process for science and policy assessments and federal rule-making, as well as gain experience with a broad range of environmental policy, programs, and related issues, including how domestic regulation under the Clean Air Act, state laws, and international and domestic policy work to protect air quality.
Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Peter Byrley (byrley.peter@epa.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor.
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: As soon as possible, 2026. All start dates are flexible and vary depending on numerous factors.
Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year and may be renewed three to four additional years upon EPA recommendation and subject to availability of funding.
Level of Participation: The appointment is full time.
Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. The anticipated stipend range is $52,693 - $77,983 annually.
Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.
EPA Security Clearance: Completion of a successful background investigation by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is required for an applicant to be on-boarded at EPA.
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 EPA. Participants do not become employees of EPA, 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.
ORISE offers all ORISE EPA graduate students and Postdocs a free 5 year membership to the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA).
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: If you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE.EPA.Other@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.
The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in the one of the relevant fields.
Preferred skills:
- Relevant coursework, experience, and a strong interest in human exposure science, preferably in ambient air pollution epidemiology and environmental health
- Evaluation and synthesis of information from published literature
- Quantitative data analysis (preferably using R or Python) and experience with analyzing environmental or health datasets
- Superior writing skills and effective communication of scientific information for technical and non-technical audiences
- Enjoys working independently and has a strong interest in learning from and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams (atmospheric, health, ecology, and economic sciences)
- Other useful skills are: epidemiology with an exposure science background, environmental health, and environmental engineering with an understanding of environmental exposures.
- Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, or Doctoral Degree.
- Minimum Overall GPA: 3.00
- Discipline(s):
- Age: Must be 18 years of age
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