CDC Research Participation Opportunity

*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

CDC Office and Location: A fellowship opportunity is currently available in the Science Office, in the Office of the Director of the Immunization Services Division (ISD) within the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), located in Atlanta, Georgia. 

CDC is one of the major operation components of the Department of Health and Human Services working 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, result from human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same. 

The Immunization Services Division (ISD) contributes to CDC’s mission by working to protect people and communities from vaccine-preventable diseases by increasing access, confidence, and demand for vaccines. A key priority within the Office of the Director of ISD is to support efforts to reduce disparities in vaccination coverage and pursue equitable distribution and administration of vaccines. The Science Office in ISD works to ensure that the Division’s scientific work, publications, and communications meet the highest standards for quality, integrity, credibility, and innovation. The Office also provides leadership for the Division for health equity in vaccination programs and science. 

Research Project: The selected participant for this fellowship will participate in training activities that will build knowledge and skills in conduct and administration of science at CDC. 

One area of focus will be to support the exploration of available data sources and gaps in knowledge for most effectively promoting vaccine access, confidence and demand. An initial focus will be on resources to increase knowledge of the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) that drive disparities in vaccination coverage. SDOH are the nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes; they are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life. The fellow will support the exploration of resources that provide the foundation for analyzing the SDOH that drive vaccination disparities by population and geography, with the goal of integrating this knowledge into the broader scientific agenda for ISD to inform programmatic interventions, policies, and systems changes that most equitably promote vaccine access, confidence and demand. 

Learning Objectives: Training opportunities may include:

• Conducting an environmental scan of data sources supported by ISD and across CDC that could be leveraged to understand the drivers of vaccine access, confidence and demand; this will include SDOH and intersecting identities that disproportionately affect certain populations and geographies and must be addressed to promote vaccine equity.
• Evaluating the strengths and limitations of available measures for informing activities aimed at promoting vaccination coverage and eliminating disparities.
• Collaborating with Teams and Branches across ISD to support the addition of key measures, including SDOH, into research agendas, branch logic models, data systems and data collection efforts.
• Facilitating development of and communication about a data hub, which will serve as a resource for informing activities to promote vaccine access, confidence and demand and will be a repository for health equity science tools.
• Developing a division-wide system to provide quantitative and qualitative data on evaluations, projects, manuscripts and data analyses describing gaps in vaccination coverage, access and demand along with vaccination disparities among disproportionately affected populations.

Mentor(s): The mentors for this opportunity are Jennifer Nelson (zcn6@cdc.gov) and Karen Pazol (ijb2@cdc.gov) (Primary), and Nicole Dowling (ncd5@cdc.gov) (Secondary). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentors.

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: August 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.

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

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a master's degree in the one of the relevant fields (Public Health, etc). Degree must have been received within the past five years, or be currently pursuing.

Preferred skills and abilities:

• Experience conducting evaluation, surveillance and/or research projects, particularly those dealing with public health programs or policies
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to act as a collaborative team member
• Excellent organizational and communication skills (both oral and written)
• Interest in health equity topics

Eligibility Requirements

• Degree: Master's Degree received within the last 60 months or currently pursuing.
• Academic Level(s): Graduate Students, Post-Bachelor's, or Post-Master's.