FDA Postdoctoral Fellowship in Computational Toxicology

Organization
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Reference Code
FDA-OWH-2022-10
How to Apply

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A complete application consists of:      

All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.

If you have questions, send an email to ORISE.FDA.CDRH@orau.org. Please include the reference code for this opportunity in your email.

Application Deadline
7/25/2022 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone
Description

*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

A research opportunity is currently available with the Office of the Commissioner (OC) Office of Women's Health (OWH), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  The project will be located at the National Center for Toxicological Research, located in Jefferson, Arkansas. 

The use of herbal dietary supplements (HDS) keeps growing in the U.S., and so have the associated adverse reactions. Women have been disproportionately reported with adverse events, including liver toxicity, caused by the HDS products. This project aims to identify genetic and nongenetic risk factors associated with increased susceptibility to herbal dietary supplement (HDS)-induced liver injury in women. The selected fellow will participate to conduct whole exome sequencing analysis for HDS-induced liver injury samples and other data retrieved from case reports in literature. Computational methods and text mining will be used to develop predictive models to assess risk of liver injury caused by HDS products for individual patients. This project is funded by the FDA’s Office of Women's Health. More details about the research in Dr. Minjun Chen’s lab could be found @ Minjun Chen|FDA. We have several postdoctoral opportunities available.

As a result of this training the participant will improve their skills in bioinformatics, computational toxicology, and genetics.

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: 2022; start date is flexible

This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and FDA. The initial appointment is for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of FDA contingent on the availability of funds. The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. The appointment is full-time at FDA in the Jefferson, Arkansas, area. Participants do not become employees of FDA, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits.

Completion of a successful background investigation by the Office of Personnel Management is required for an applicant to be on-boarded at FDA. OPM can complete a background investigation only for individuals, including non-US Citizens, who have resided in the US for a total of three of the past five years.

FDA requires ORISE participants to read and sign their FDA Education and Training Agreement within 30 days of his/her start date, setting forth the conditions and expectations for his/her educational appointment at the agency. This agreement covers such topics as the following:

  • Non-employee nature of the ORISE appointment;
  • Prohibition on ORISE Fellows performing inherently governmental functions;
  • Obligation of ORISE Fellows to convey all necessary rights to the FDA regarding intellectual property conceived or first reduced to practice during their fellowship;
  • The fact that research materials and laboratory notebooks are the property of the FDA;
  • ORISE fellow’s obligation to protect and not to further disclose or use non-public information.
Qualifications

The qualified candidate should have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields (e.g., Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Mathematics, Statistics, Public Health, Chemical Engineering, Toxicology, Systems Biology/Pharmacology, Biophysics), or be currently pursuing the degree with completion by October 1, 2022. Degree must have been received within the past five years.

Candidates whose degrees have an emphasis on modeling and scientific computing are preferred.

A history of peer-reviewed publications is preferred.

Preferred skills:

  • A strong background in Python, R, or Matlab programming languages 
  • Familiarity with the study of drug-induced liver injury 
  • Capability to conduct scientific research independently 
Eligibility Requirements
  • Degree: Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or anticipated to be received by 10/1/2022 11:59:00 PM.
  • Discipline(s):
    • Chemistry and Materials Sciences (2 )
    • Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (17 )
    • Engineering (27 )
    • Environmental and Marine Sciences (14 )
    • Life Health and Medical Sciences (48 )
    • Mathematics and Statistics (11 )
    • Physics (1 )
Affirmation

Have you lived in the United States for at least 36 out of the past 60 months? (36 months do not have to be consecutive.)

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