Public Health Informatics Fellowship-CDC

Organization
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Reference Code
CDC-ASTDR-2016-0046
How to Apply

A complete application consists of:

In the Writing Sample section, please include a cover letter that demonstrates your understanding of this fellowship opportunity by discussing the following:

  1. Provide your understanding for the application of public health informatics in the context of this fellowship opportunity and indicate that this understanding is aligned with your professional and career objectives.

  2. I have or want to develop significant skills in developing and implementing the evaluation of CDC science and research, especially where I consider informatics to be an important element in my professional toolkit.

  3. I want to be the lead author on a manuscript that we submit to a peer reviewed journal, based on a fellowship project.

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

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

Description

A unique and state-of-the-art fellowship opportunity to put science into action is available in the Office of the Associate Director for Science (OADS) in the Office of the Director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The OADS mission is to provide leadership for the science mission of the agency by advancing the quality, integrity, and relevance of CDC science, and OADS leadership advances innovative and successful scientific collaborations and partnerships to achieve the mission of CDC in the 21st century. This state-of-the-art fellowship opportunity will be in the field of Public Health Informatics, and OADS is a CDC leader for both attracting and developing public health informaticians seeking training and advancement for collaboration with all public health science disciplines to deliver public health practice, research, and learning. For students of the Profession, this fellowship will be recognized as a rare opportunity at the intersection of public health science with information science and technology.

The selected fellow will perform a variety of cross-cutting scientific activities and analyses related to public health informatics in public health science and research. These activities include coordinating, maintaining, and executing public health informatics projects supporting the mission of the Office of the Associate Director for Science. The fellow will have the opportunity to acquire specialized skills and knowledge in the public health informatics domain with an emphasis on the administration and evaluation of public health science and research in the context of innovative, enterprise-wide IT implementations that extend beyond traditional boundaries and embrace cloud computing as well as strategic planning for meeting the CDC mission in the 21st century. This fellowship provides opportunities to develop and execute unique projects that will guide decision making by agency executive leadership. Challenges that involve working with complex data sets in science and technology policy and administration, how to advance the quality and integrity of CDC science, thinking about and applying enterprise architecture principles, understanding the impacts of Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policies on informatics projects, and executing critical tactical and operational informatics responsibilities for OADS should pique and drive the applicant’s interest.

Under the guidance of a mentor, activities may include:

  • Developing and reviewing certification and accreditation documents for CDC information systems based on DHHS frameworks, OMB policies, and NIST guidelines, as the security boundaries of these systems extend in unusual and challenging ways

  • Executing data extracts from CDC databases or a variety of public databases and creating data sets for analysis

  • Performing complex analyses of data extracts to answer questions of scientific excellence, quality and impact, or in support of business processes

  • Performing business processes and logical data modeling using standards based notation

  • Preparing information products including models, figures, tables and written documentation from original analyses

  • Contributing to discussion on data analysis, incorporating principles of experimental design and analysis

  • Creating As-Is/To-Be plans for information system enhancements using relevant, available tools, and overseeing the implementation of the plans

  • Implementing new processes and evaluating changes

  • Assisting with the development and implementation of enterprise-wide information systems and solutions that flow from the “Shared First” OMB initiative

  • Performing information system administration

  • Providing technical assistance to users with operating systems, business productivity applications, and platforms and technical environments in use

The objectives of this fellowship will emphasize acquiring skill and knowledge for developing and implementing the evaluation of CDC science, research, and investigations particularly from the point of view of design and evaluation with quasi-experimental and experimental designs and logic models where IT is a tool to leverage in this area of work, and the applied, natural environment is the setting for the conduct of empirical and scientific investigations in support of CDC science quality and integrity. Broadly, fields of present major scientific interest by the fellow should include evaluation of environmental drivers such as Federal IT policies, guidelines, memos, and frameworks (e.g., FITARRA, HHS EPLC Framework, “Shared First,” and OMB M-13-13) on business solution implementations, improving the value of existing implementations, and the outcome and impact of CDC science, research, and investigations. This fellowship provides the opportunity to assist a dynamic, high-performing, forward-looking team to work on challenging problems, engaging as more than an individual contributor. Skill and knowledge development for success are valued in meeting the opportunities provided by this fellowship. Sharing scientific information is valued.

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 CDC. The initial appointment is for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of CDC and contingent on the availability of funds. The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with education level and experience. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. The appointment is full-time at CDC in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Participants do not become employees of CDC or the program administrator, and there are no fringe benefits paid.

Qualifications

Masters Degree or higher in the social, natural, physical, or computational sciences; engineering; or public health.

 

Eligibility Requirements
  • Degree: Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 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 (2 )
    • Physics (16 )
    • Social and Behavioral Sciences (24 )