*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

CDC Office and Location: A research opportunity is currently available with the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 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: As a member of the Global Health Sciences (GHS) team within the Office of the Director, Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, the ORISE Global Public Health Laboratory Fellow will support laboratory capacity building activities for various international projects related to Global Health Security implementation in the Middle East and North Africa, South America, and African regions.
The team works alongside Ministries of Health and international partners to build systems and capacity to detect and respond to emerging respiratory threats, including COVID-19 and other pathogens of public health importance. The fellow will support the GHS team in providing technical assistance to countries to implement activities focused on laboratory systems capacity building, including the strengthening of molecular diagnostics, bioinformatics, and pathogen genome sequencing. The fellow will participate in conference calls and meetings to support global health security and COVID-19 related work in various countries, coordinate activities, assist in the design and implementation of international laboratory capacity building activities, and engage with numerous national and international stakeholders to advance DVD’s GHS goals.

Learning Objectives: The Fellow will be involved in the following learning opportunities:

• Understanding the structure and functions of an international public health laboratory and infectious disease surveillance systems
• Gaining experience providing technical assistance to global partners on laboratory-related issues
• Learning how infectious disease and laboratory surveillance systems are designed and implemented in diverse settings
• Gaining skills in communicating and collaborating with diverse international partners

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Arunmozhi Balajee (fir3@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: As soon as a qualified candidate is identified. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for up to 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.

Qualifications
The qualified candidate should have received a master's or doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields (Biological Sciences, Public Health, Molecular Biology). Degree must have been received within the past five years.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience generating and/or analyzing molecular biology laboratory or genome sequence data
• Experience working in a domestic or international public health laboratory
• Knowledge of infectious disease epidemiology
• Experience working with international partners/collaborators