CDC Occupational Risk Assessment Fellowship

A research opportunity is currently available with the Risk Evaluation Branch (REB) in the Division of Science Integration (DSI), within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

This research opportunity is part of the Collegiate Leaders in Occupational Safety and Health at NIOSH. The primary mission of the Risk Evaluation Branch is to assess the risks of workplace hazards, particularly those associated with chemical exposures. These risk assessments support NIOSH authoritative recommendations, such as Recommended Exposure Limits (RELs), which ideally represent air concentrations of chemicals that workers could inhale over their entire working lifetime without serious harm. Determining the air concentrations that are not hazardous to workers requires a multi-disciplinary team approach. The Risk Evaluation Branch consists of toxicologists, epidemiologists and statisticians who evaluate data on the toxicity of chemicals (and other hazard data) and build statistical models to predict risks to workers based on existing human epidemiology and animal toxicology studies. Risk assessment is an applied science, at the intersection between human health research and health policy.

Under the guidance of a mentor, the participant will be trained in quantitative and/or qualitative risk assessment of workplace chemical hazards related to health outcomes, such as cancer, neurotoxicity, respiratory dysfunction, etc. The participant will learn how to review scientific literature, extract data from scientific journal articles, evaluate the data (using toxicological, epidemiological and statistical techniques) to come to conclusions to support NIOSH recommendations about workplace hazards. The participant will also learn about issues related to risk assessment such as mode of action of chemicals, data uncertainty, and integration of human and animal data and how they impact conclusions about chemical hazards. This may include learning about chemicals as groups or families based on chemical structure, hazard, and/or mode of action. The participant will contribute to team discussions with a multidisciplinary team of toxicologists, epidemiologists and statisticians, but will have a stand-alone risk assessment project that they will be involved in developing and completing, with guidance from the mentor and team members. Typical projects include assessment of risks of exposure to a single chemical, identification of the scientific basis for families of chemicals with Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health values, research and evaluation of methods to extrapolate animal toxicology data to human workplace exposures.

This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and CDC. The initial appointment can be up to one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of CDC contingent on the availability of funds. The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. The appointment is full-time at CDC in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area. Participants do not become employees of CDC, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits.

The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a master's or doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within five years of the appointment start date.

This opportunity is available to US citizens only.

If you have questions, send an email to ORISE.CDC.NIOSH@orau.org. Please include the reference code for this opportunity (CDC-NIOSH-2020-0108) in your email.