CDC Data Modernization Fellowship
*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.
CDC Office and Location: A research opportunity is currently available with the Office of the Director (OD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 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: CDC data show that non-infectious diseases are the leading cause of death for Americans across the life span and are disproportionately affecting communities of color. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that many chronic diseases have put people at increased risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19, and we’ve seen existing health disparities become even more stark. CDC's ability to identify and respond to such public health threats is hampered by the lack of discoverability and access to timely, complete data on chronic disease, birth defects, developmental disabilities, environmental pollution, and injuries.
CDC’s non-infectious disease programs within the Deputy Director for Non-Infectious Diseases (DDNID) are working together to modernize the way we do our work by improving CDC’s non-infectious disease data and systems to drive data-driven decision making and achieve greater public health impact. By creating modern, interoperable, and real-time public health data and surveillance systems, CDC’s ability to inform real-time decision making would be enhanced by increased access to timely, local data on pre-existing conditions, social determinants of health, behavioral risk factors, and environmental hazards. Ultimately, CDC would be able to rapidly identify and effectively mitigate emerging threats using trusted data that promote evidence-based behaviors, interventions, and solutions to protect health.
The fellow will train with CDC surveillance and informatics staff in one of the four DDNID national centers or in the DDNID Office of the Director. The CDC mentor will train the fellow in activities related to assessing the current state of data and systems within non-infectious disease programs, creating metadata for those data assets for CDC's enterprise data catalogue, and synthesizing future state data and system needs.
Learning Objectives: The fellow will gain experience in the application of data science and informatics in public health for collecting, managing, visualizing, analyzing, and disseminating data. The fellow will learn how to identify data science and informatics needs across the data life-cycle, to evaluate existing data and technology assets, and to translate key information about those data and technology assets for other scientists. The fellow will train within a multi-disciplinary team setting, engaging in both group and independent assignments, and routine and exploratory projects.
Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Tracie McGaughey (tmd9@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: Winter 2021/2022. 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: 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.
Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE.CDC.OD@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.