The EPA Environmental Research and Business Support Program has an immediate opening for an EPA Health Data Analyst with the Office of Research and Development at EPA’s facility located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Office of Research and Development at the EPA supports high-quality research to improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help EPA achieve its environmental goals. Research is conducted in a broad range of environmental areas by scientists in EPA laboratories and at universities across the country.

The Environmental Public Health Division (EPHD) within the Office of Research and Development (ORD) at EPA focuses on the adverse public health impacts of environmental exposures. The research utilizes human subject’s data and publicly available databases to investigate the human health effects of air and water pollutants and other environmental exposures. Researchers in the Epidemiology Branch of EPHD are seeking an individual, at least 18 years of age who has a completed master’s degree within the past two years in an accredited U.S. college or university in the following disciplines; Epidemiology, Environmental Sciences, Public Health, Statistics, Social Sciences, Biostatistics or closely related field to support research efforts. This effort is expected to begin approximately December, 2015.

The selected candidate shall assist a researcher in the Epidemiology Branch with analytical, management and administrative responsibilities and communication responsibilities required to support and maintain a robust research program, including the administration and management of large data sets.  

Analytical Responsibilities shall include

• Using large datasets to investigate overall environmental quality and adverse human health outcomes,
• Using large publically available datasets to investigate weather, water quality and environmental conditions, with statistically associated adverse health outcomes,
• Developing coding for statistical analyses,
• Running developed code for statistical analyses, and
• Applying statistical methods such as multivariable modeling to analyze environmental and human health data.

Management and Administrative Responsibilities shall include

• Conducting literature searches and organizing results from the searches,
• Extracting, cleaning, linking, merging, documenting and managing large complex databases from both environmental quality and health data platforms,
• Organizing electronic and hardcopy records and files,
• Researching and summarizing information relating to environmental quality and health outcomes, and
• Maintaining records of meetings, correspondence, and action documents, and maintain a system to track projects in progress.

Communications-related Responsibilities shall include

• Assisting in the logistics and coordination activities for briefings, meetings, workshops, and other collaborative efforts,
• Assisting the team in developing oral presentations results and impacts using graphics and other interactive formats,
• Assisting in developing summary analysis documents of results and impacts from data analyses,
• Assisting in writing study results in manuscripts, presentations, and fact sheets, and
• Creating abstracts for scientific meetings and present work at meetings.

Location: This job will be located at EPA’s facility located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC.

Salary: Selected applicants will become temporary employees of ORAU and will receive an hourly wage of $27.31 for hours worked.

Travel: There is no travel requirement for this position.

Expected Start Date: The position is full time and expected to begin December 2015.  The selected applicant will be a temporary employee of ORAU working as a contractor to EPA. The initial contract period is through May 14, 2016. EPA may elect to renew the contract for an additional four 12-month optional periods.

Working Conditions: 

This position will involve work in an administrative setting and is not expected to involve exposure to hazardous elements.

For more information, contact EPAjobs@orau.org. Do not contact EPA directly.

Eligible applicants must:

• Be at least 18 years of age and
• Have a Master’s degree in Epidemiology, Environmental Sciences, Public Health, Statistics, Social Sciences, or Biostatistics or closely related degree from an accredited university or college; within the last 24 months; and
• Be a citizen of the United States of America or a Legal Permanent Resident.

EPA ORD employees, their spouses, and children are not eligible to participate in this program.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

The applicant shall:

• Have demonstrated education and/or experience in epidemiologic and statistical methods with experience managing and analyzing large datasets,
• Have at least 21 total credit hours in courses in one more of the following areas: statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology, analytic social science courses,
• Have proficiency and experience with mathematical modeling and advanced statistical analyses and programming using statistical software such as SAS, STATA, or R,
• Have demonstrated leadership skills and have experience working in teams, and
• Have strong written, oral and electronic communication skills.

Desired Expertise, Skills, Education, and/or Experience

It is desirable for the applicant to:

• Have proficiency in conducting literature searches,
• Have proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (i.e., Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook), and the Internet,
• Have experience in using database software (e.g., MS Access, SQL, etc.),
• Have experience in extracting and analyzing environmental quality data (e.g., EPA air quality system, Safe Drinking Water Information System, Toxic Release Inventory) and health databases (e.g., National Center for Health Statistics natality and linked birth certificate/infant death certificate databases, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, mortality data),
• Have experience in administration support functions (i.e., recordkeeping, filing), managing and organizing records (electronic and hardcopy), creating Institutional Review Board (IRB) applications, and management of extremely large databases,
• Have strong communication skills (i.e., written, oral, telephone etiquette, presentation abilities), including effective multi-media technical communications,
• Have excellent proof reading and editing skills, and
• Have knowledge or previous experience using Geographic Information Systems analyses.

How to apply:

• Submit application and supporting documents by clicking on Apply Now button.
• For more information, contact EPAjobs@orau.org. Do not contact EPA directly.

• Citizenship: LPR or U.S. Citizen
• Degree: Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree received within the last 24 month(s).
• Discipline(s):
  • Chemistry and Materials Sciences (12 )
  • Communications and Graphics Design (1 )
  • Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (16 )
  • Earth and Geosciences (21 )
  • Engineering (27 )
  • Environmental and Marine Sciences (14 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (45 )
  • Mathematics and Statistics (10 )
  • Other Non-Science & Engineering (5 )
  • Physics (16 )
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences (28 )

I certify that I am at least 18 years of age; a recent graduate with a Master’s degree in Epidemiology, Environmental Sciences, Public Health, Statistics, Social Sciences, or Biostatistics or closely related field from an accredited university or college within the last 24 months; a citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident of the United States of America; and not a current employee of EPA ORD or the spouse or child of an EPA ORD employee.