CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) Public Health Internship Program

*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

CDC Office and Location: A fellowship opportunity is available with the Respiratory Diseases Branch (RDB), within the Division of Bacterial Diseases (DBD), in the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. This opportunity can be part-time or full-time and is eligible for 100% telework from Atlanta, GA or San Juan, PR.

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.

The mission of the Division of Bacterial Diseases (DBD) is to prevent and control illness and death from vaccine-preventable and other respiratory bacterial diseases, in the United States and worldwide, through leadership in epidemiologic and laboratory science and vaccine policy. Within DBD is the Respiratory Diseases Branch (RDB) which focuses on prevention and control of community-acquired bacterial respiratory and neonatal infections, both domestically and internationally.

NCIRD - Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) Home | CDC

Research Project: The proposed project will focus on one of the key areas of RDB's work, which is to support U.S. pneumococcal vaccine policy development by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Despite the success of previous pneumococcal vaccines in reducing the burden of pneumococcal disease in the U.S., pneumococcus remains to be a cause of significant morbidity and mortality. In addition, certain groups have a disproportionately high burden of pneumococcal disease. New pneumococcal vaccines provide the opportunity to further reduce pneumococcal disease burden and disparities that exist. With new pneumococcal vaccines in advanced stages of development, there will be need to review and synthesize evidence to support future ACIP discussions.

RDB is seeking a qualified and motivated candidate to collaborate with RDB staff to review evidence of pneumococcal epidemiology and vaccines to help inform ACIP pneumococcal vaccines Work Group discussions. The fellow will have the opportunity to attend ACIP pneumococcal vaccines Work Group meetings.

Learning Objectives: The activities listed below represent the minimum training opportunities that the fellow will complete:

• Develop a brief report summarizing the evidence from literature review
• Produce PowerPoint slides summarizing evidence to support ACIP Work Group discussions on the Evidence to Recommendations framework

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Jennifer Farrar (ihi4@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: February 5, 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, and is negotiable.

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.

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

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should be a current University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences student pursuing a master's, doctoral, or medical degree in Biomedical Sciences, Health Sciences, Medicine, Public Health, or other related disciplines. Recent graduates from UPR will also be considered, and a degree must have been received within the past five years.

Preferred skills:

• Interest in vaccine-preventable and respiratory diseases and vaccines
• Experience in conducting literature search and technical writing
• Experience performing data analysis using statistical software (e.g. R, SAS)
• Analytical/assessment
• Communication (oral/written)
• Policy development and program planning
• Public health sciences