Organization
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Reference Code
CDC-2026-0100
How To Apply
To submit your application, scroll to the bottom of this opportunity and click APPLY.
A Complete Application Consists Of
- An application
- Transcripts – Click here for detailed information about acceptable transcripts
- A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list
- One educational or professional recommendation. Your application will be considered incomplete, and will not be reviewed until one recommendation is submitted.
All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.
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Application Deadline
10/15/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone
Description
- Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.
CDC Office and Location: A fellowship opportunity is available 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 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.
Within CDC, the Biothreat Radar Office (BTRO) advances CDC's early-warning capabilities by setting the vision for Biothreat Radar, leading strategic integration across Biothreat Radar activities, coordinating programmatic efforts, driving innovation, expanding partnerships, and mobilizing resources. Biothreat Radar is an early-warning ecosystem that seeks to rapidly detect and assess known, novel, and unforeseen health threats to inform timely public health action.
Research Project: Biothreat Radar is an early-warning ecosystem designed to rapidly detect and assess known, novel, and unforeseen health threats and help translate emerging signals into timely public health action. It connects surveillance systems, scientific expertise, partnerships, data, analytics, and innovative technologies across CDC and partner organizations to strengthen the nation's ability to identify and understand emerging biological threats.
Artificial intelligence is creating new opportunities to strengthen public health early warning, threat assessment, analytics, and decision support. At the same time, rapidly evolving AI capabilities - including systems with increasing capabilities relevant to biology - raise important scientific, operational, evaluation, and biosecurity questions. You will engage in applied research and analysis examining the potential uses, performance, limitations, and implications of AI and related emerging technologies for Biothreat Radar mission needs.
Under the mentorship of BTRO leadership and subject matter experts, you will have opportunities to conduct environmental scans and technology assessments of emerging AI capabilities; identify and characterize priority AI use cases across the Biothreat Radar signal-to-action pathway; explore methods for evaluating AI tools for public health applications; participate in the development and testing of AI-enabled analytical approaches, prototypes; examine how AI can help integrate and interpret diverse epidemiologic, clinical, laboratory, genomic, environmental, event-based, and open-source information; explore approaches to rapidly synthesize scientific and public health information during emerging events; research biology-related AI capabilities and their implications for biosecurity; and contribute to frameworks for responsible evaluation and use of AI, including scientific validity, transparency, human oversight, uncertainty, and appropriate use.
Learning Objectives: Through this opportunity, you will gain knowledge and practical experience at the intersection of artificial intelligence, public health surveillance, emerging biological threats, and biosecurity, with exposure to real-world challenges in early warning, threat assessment, analytics, and public health decision support.
Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Cyrus Shahpar ([email protected]). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: October 1, 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.
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.
Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email [email protected] and include the reference code for this opportunity.
Qualifications
The qualified candidate should have received or be currently pursuing a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within the past five years, or be anticipated to receive by July 2027.
Preferred Skills
- Academic training in computer science, artificial intelligence or machine learning, data science, bioinformatics, computational biology, epidemiology, public health, biostatistics, biomedical sciences, engineering, mathematics, statistics, or a related field.
- Experience or coursework involving artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, data science, computational methods, or related quantitative approaches.
- Experience with Python, R, SQL, or other analytical or programming tools.
- Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills and the ability to evaluate technical approaches, evidence, and uncertainty.
- Ability to synthesize technical and scientific information from multiple sources and communicate findings clearly to both technical and nontechnical audiences.
Point of Contact
Rachel
Eligibility Requirements">3 )
- Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, or Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or anticipated to be received by 7/31/2027 11:59:00 PM.
- Discipline(s):
- Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (<a href="#" data-bs-toggle="popover" tabindex="0" role="button" data-bs-title="Computer, Information, and Data Sciences" data-bs-content="
- Artificial Intelligence (including Robotics, Computer Vision, Human Language Processing, and Machine Learning)
- Computer Science (general)
- Data Science
- Engineering (1 )
- Life Health and Medical Sciences (3 )
- Mathematics and Statistics (3 )
Affirmation
I certify that I have not previously been employed by CDC or by a contractor working directly for CDC. I understand that CDC does not permit individuals with a prior employment relationship with CDC or its contractors to participate as trainees in the ORISE program. (Exceptions may be granted for individuals who, since the previous CDC employment, have obtained a new STEM degree which necessitates training in a new field.)