CDC This is a TEST CRC Expansion Fellowship

*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

CDC Office and Location: A research opportunity is currently available in the Climate and Health Program in the Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice (DEHSP) within the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) 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 recently developed a serious cooperative game called This is a TEST to assist state and local health departments and their partners in training and exercising Community Reception Center (CRC) functions after a nuclear or radiological emergency and the roles / responsibilities of key participants in CRC operations. Initial evaluation has identified a number of areas for further expansion and improvement of the game to respond to the needs identified by state and local participants. Variants of the game have also been developed and piloted to support training and exercise of Point of Dispensing functions as well as Incident Command System functions. 

This project is intend to develop additional content for the game to meet state and local needs, exercise the objectives in CDC's Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreement, perform functional testing and field evaluation of the updated game, and assist in the translation, clearance, and distribution of the resulting game materials. This expansion will address hospital preparedness, health equity issues, and challenges faced by persons with access and functional needs. 

Learning Objectives: The objectives of this project are to educate state and local workforce on CRC operations, enhance engagement and collaboration across sectors with public health and radiation control partners, highlight health equity issues in emergency responses, and address specific CRC challenges around pediatric populations, rural populations, pets and animal care staff, vehicle monitoring, and recovery efforts. Integration with Emergency Operations Center operations and hospital operations are also desired. 

The participant's involvement will be in supporting the development of expansion elements, coordinating game content updates, assisting with webinar development to familiarize participants and to train facilitators on game mechanics, facilitating evaluation data gathering, and performing functional and outcome analysis with CDC staff. 

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Lauren Finklea (LNA8@CDC.GOV). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: June 3, 2024. 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 or part 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 only. 

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.NCEH@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should have received a doctoral degree in the one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within the past five years.

Preferred skills:

• Skills in game design, elicitation of user participation, and game evaluation
• Familiarity with emergency management principles and/or radiation emergencies 
• Critical thinking and strong plain language writing. 

Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree: Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 month(s).
• Academic Level(s): Any academic level.