Science and Evaluation of Public Health Emergency Management at CDC

 *Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

CDC Office and Location: A fellowship opportunity is available in 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.

The Division of Emergency Operations collaborates with colleagues across CDC to facilitate well-coordinated, agency-wide responses to emergencies and threats, such as infectious disease outbreaks and natural disasters. DEO applies decades of emergency management experience to put the right people, plans, and processes in place to prepare for, respond to, and evaluate public health emergencies in the United States and around the world. Before and during a response, DEO leads response training, supports emergency communication, and contributes to analyses of public health data.

The DEO Science Team lends scientific and evaluation knowledge to ensure scientific quality and integrity throughout the Division. The team supports efforts that contributes to evidence-based practice dissemination and implementation.

Research Project: Two specific projects include:

1. Review of Calls to the CDC-Emergency Operations Center.

The CDC-EOC Watch Team operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Among many responsibilities, the team receives approximately 10,000 incoming calls annually regarding public health, safety, or CDC-operational concerns. The Team uses a library of over 100 protocols to manage and respond to an incoming call, provide specialized customer service to the caller, document specific information about the call, and triage the call to the appropriate CDC program, state health department, government agencies, or other appropriate destination.

This project team will review the audio recordings from a sample of calls to the CDC-EOC Watch Desk. A data abstraction form will be used to review and document how the team chooses protocols, and how the protocol directs triage and disposition of the call. Data will be analyzed and results summarized to produce recommendations for triaging calls, providing accurate information to the caller, and maintaining consistent messaging across CDC outlets (i.e. information provided on CDC website and EOC calls).

2. Evaluation of Training Provided to CDC staff.

DEO leads the development of training modules to inform CDC staff on foundational emergency response concepts, systems, and processes for CDC response activities. The CDCReady Responder - General Responder training comprises five modules: Overview of the National Incident Management System (NIMS), CDC’s Incident Management System, Overview of Response Systems and Processes, Information Sharing in a Response, and Responder Resilience. To assess the staff’s perceived knowledge of emergency response concepts and experience with the training, learners are invited to complete an evaluation questionnaire following completion of each of the five training modules. Collection of these questionnaires is automated and has been on-going since February 25, 2025. To date, over 750 questionnaires have been collected for each of the five modules. You will have the opportunity to analyze questionnaire data and collaborate on the production of a report of results including recommendations for improving training.

Learning Objectives:  Under the guidance and training of a mentor you will be involved in several learning activities of the Division including:

• Gain experience evaluating the development and implementation of CDCReady Responder, a cross-agency initiative to recruit, develop, and sustain a qualified public health emergency response workforce.
• Develop skills in analyzing CDC readiness and response operational data to assess program performance and response capacity.
• Learn to interpret evaluation findings and prepare reports that inform recommendations for improving CDC emergency response processes.
• Gain experience with continuous quality-improvement reviews of daily operations within CDC’s Emergency Operations Center.
• Gain exposure to CDC emergency response activities through participation in Incident Management System activations.
• Strengthen collaboration and project-coordination skills with CDC programs and centers, federal partners, state and local health agencies, and public- and private-sector organizations.

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

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: As soon as possible, 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 and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) 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, 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.

Salary : $4,447 - $5,439