CDC Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Initiative Fellowship

Application Deadline

9/25/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

Description

*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 protects 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. CDC increases the health security of our nation. As the nation’s health protection agency, CDC saves lives and protects people from health threats. To accomplish its mission, CDC conducts important science and provides health information that protects our nation against expensive and dangerous health threats, and responds when these arise.

Research Project: You will gain training and experience in the analysis of large population-based and healthcare databases within Division of Diabetes Translation's Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Initiative. Under the guidance of experienced CDC scientists, you will participate in epidemiologic and statistical research examining trends in CKD, associated comorbidities, survival, and causes of death among individuals with CKD and kidney failure/end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in the United States. These research activities contribute to CDC's efforts to better understand the burden of CKD and inform public health strategies to improve prevention and outcomes.

Learning Objectives: You will have the opportunity to advance your skills to:

• Gain experience conducting analyses of national surveillance datasets (e.g., NHANES, NHIS, National Hospitalizations Data) and healthcare databases (e.g., Medicare and Medicaid) to examine clinical and environmental factors associated with CKD incidence and trends.
• Apply advanced statistical and machine learning methods, including semi-supervised cluster analysis, to characterize populations with diabetes and identify factors associated with diabetes-related CKD onset and CKD progression.
• Gain experience analyzing United States Renal Data System (USRDS) data to examine trends in comorbidities, survival, and causes of death among individuals initiating ESKD therapy.
• Participate in systematic reviews and meta-analyses examining factors associated with CKD awareness and related public health outcomes.
• Develop skills in longitudinal and trend analyses of survival, mortality, and disease burden.
• Contribute to research aimed at improving understanding of population differences in CKD burden and identifying opportunities to improve CKD outcomes.
• Gain experience in the preparation of scientific manuscripts, reports, abstracts, and presentations for internal CDC meetings and scientific conferences.
• Strengthen skills in scientific communication, epidemiologic methods, statistical programming, and interdisciplinary collaboration through mentorship and participation in ongoing research activities.

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Stephen Onufrak (seo5@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: 2026. 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 CDCrpp@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields (biostatistics, epidemiology, health, or population sciences). Degree must have been received within the past five years.

Preferred skills:

• Programming and analytical skills in SAS, SUDAAN, Stata, R, Python, or related data manipulation and analysis software
• Strong scientific and technical writing skills
• Experience with analyzing complex surveys, developing cohort analyses, and testing health outcomes in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies

Stipend

$6,581.00 – $7,888.00 Monthly

Point of Contact

Rachel

Eligibility Requirements

• Degree: Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 month(s).