CDC National Surveillance Team Fellowship

Overview

*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

CDC Office and Location: A research opportunity is available in 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: The Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch (EDEB) collaborates with state and local health departments and other federal agencies to conduct surveillance for bacterial enteric diseases and related antimicrobial resistance occurring in the United States. Pathogens EDEB staff members track include Clostridium botulinum, Campylobacter, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, Listeria, Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia. EDEB staff routinely collect and analyze surveillance data, publish and present findings, and collaborate with partners to improve the branch’s nine surveillance systems. EDEB is organized into five teams: Analytics, the Foodborne Disease Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), the National Surveillance Team (NST), and the National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS).

The National Surveillance Team conducts surveillance of multiple enteric conditions including listeriosis, botulism, salmonellosis, shigellosis, campylobacteriosis, cholera, vibriosis, typhoid and paratyphoid fever, and E. coli. To modernize data collection, the National Surveillance Team recently moved to a cloud-based data platform which allows for improved integration of outbreak and surveillance data.

Learning Objectives:

Learn to provide technical assistance to partners for routine access and use of cloud-based platforms for reporting enteric pathogens, including Listeria, Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli.
Participate and train in developing technical assistance resources and conducting trainings for end users, including creation of educational and training materials, production and maintenance of instructional literature, documentation, and user guides
Learn to run, modify and/or develop new programs and tools to ingest data, maintain and clean files, and collaborate with partners to ensure timely and complete reporting
Learn to develop and implement analytic and data visualization routines, using modern technology and collaborative code sharing, to assist the team and reporting partners in monitoring data across multiple surveillance systems
Train closely with the team and IT staff to develop and implement tools across multiple national surveillance systems
Learn to analyze and disseminate data through annual reports and scientific publications
Additional tasks, as assigned by team or branch leadership
Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Ethel Taylor (idp4@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: 2024/2025. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for 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: Stipend rates may vary based on numerous factors, including opportunity, location, education, and experience. If you are interviewed, you can inquire about the exact stipend rate at that time and if selected, your appointment offer will include the monthly stipend rate.

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.NCEZID@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.
Qualifications
The qualified candidate should have received or be currently pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree in the one of the relevant fields (e.g. epidemiology). Degree must have been received within the past five years or is anticipated to be received by 7/1/2024.

Preferred skills:

Excellent communication skills and is a team player.
The candidate should be familiar with and have experience using SAS or R (or another analytic tool) and Excel.
The candidate should have knowledge of best practices in database design and administration, version control, and skills related to IT, informatics, or computer science.
Strong written and oral communication skills preferred.
Knowledge of best practices in database design and administration.
Skills related to informatics and/or computer science, would be beneficial.