What are the responsibilities and job description for the EPA Advancing Human Thyroid NAMs for Endocrine Disruption Screening position at Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education?
Organization
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Reference Code
EPA-OCSPP-OPP-IO-2026-0004
How To Apply
To submit your application, scroll to the bottom of this opportunity and click APPLY.
A Complete Application Consists Of
Connect with ORISE...on the GO! Download the new ORISE GO mobile app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to help you stay engaged, connected, and informed during your ORISE experience and beyond!
Application Deadline
8/14/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone
Description
The mission of EPA is to protect human health and the environment. EPA works to ensure that: Americans have clean air, land and water; National efforts to reduce environmental risks are based on the best available scientific information; Federal laws protecting human health and the environment are administered and enforced fairly, effectively and as Congress intended; Environmental stewardship is integral to U.S. policies concerning natural resources, human health, economic growth, energy, transportation, agriculture, industry, and international trade, and these factors are similarly considered in establishing environmental policy; All parts of society have access to accurate information sufficient to effectively participate in managing human health and environmental risks; Contaminated lands and toxic sites are cleaned up; and chemicals in the marketplace are reviewed for safety.
Research Project: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) conducts solutions-driven research to rapidly evaluate the potential health hazards of environmental chemicals and accelerate the pace of chemical risk assessment. US EPA develops and implements in vitro and in silico new approach methods (NAMs) to avoid the use of animal testing and support regulatory decision making. There is regulatory need in the US EPA Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) to identify and evaluate chemicals that may disrupt the thyroid endocrine system. Thyroid NAMs are being developed and applied to increase data coverage across data poor chemicals using a tiered testing strategy, but validation of these methods is necessary to establish confidence for regulatory adoption. The objective of this project is to increase the confidence in applying and using data derived from human-based thyroid organotypic culture models (OCMs) to enable more robust assessments of thyroid disrupting chemicals.
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: August 1, 2026. All start dates are flexible and vary depending on numerous factors.
Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year and may be renewed three to four additional years upon EPA recommendation and subject to availability of funding.
Level of Participation: The appointment is full-time.
Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. The anticipated stipend range is $77,983 - $93,468 annually.
Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.
EPA Security Clearance: Completion of a successful background investigation by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is required for an applicant to be on-boarded at EPA.
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 EPA. Participants do not become employees of EPA, 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.
ORISE offers all ORISE EPA graduate students and Postdocs a free 5 year membership to the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA).
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 see the FAQ section of our website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE.EPA.Other@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 (cell/molecular biology, biochemistry, toxicology, environmental science, or a closely related field). Degree must have been received within the past five years.
Preferred Skills
$77,983.00 – $93,468.00 Yearly
Point of Contact
Ashley
Eligibility Requirements">14 )
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Reference Code
EPA-OCSPP-OPP-IO-2026-0004
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
- Two educational or professional recommendations. Your application will be considered incomplete, and will not be reviewed until one recommendation is submitted.
Connect with ORISE...on the GO! Download the new ORISE GO mobile app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to help you stay engaged, connected, and informed during your ORISE experience and beyond!
Application Deadline
8/14/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone
Description
- Applications may be reviewed on a rolling-basis and this posting could close before the deadline.
The mission of EPA is to protect human health and the environment. EPA works to ensure that: Americans have clean air, land and water; National efforts to reduce environmental risks are based on the best available scientific information; Federal laws protecting human health and the environment are administered and enforced fairly, effectively and as Congress intended; Environmental stewardship is integral to U.S. policies concerning natural resources, human health, economic growth, energy, transportation, agriculture, industry, and international trade, and these factors are similarly considered in establishing environmental policy; All parts of society have access to accurate information sufficient to effectively participate in managing human health and environmental risks; Contaminated lands and toxic sites are cleaned up; and chemicals in the marketplace are reviewed for safety.
Research Project: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) conducts solutions-driven research to rapidly evaluate the potential health hazards of environmental chemicals and accelerate the pace of chemical risk assessment. US EPA develops and implements in vitro and in silico new approach methods (NAMs) to avoid the use of animal testing and support regulatory decision making. There is regulatory need in the US EPA Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) to identify and evaluate chemicals that may disrupt the thyroid endocrine system. Thyroid NAMs are being developed and applied to increase data coverage across data poor chemicals using a tiered testing strategy, but validation of these methods is necessary to establish confidence for regulatory adoption. The objective of this project is to increase the confidence in applying and using data derived from human-based thyroid organotypic culture models (OCMs) to enable more robust assessments of thyroid disrupting chemicals.
- Evaluate the inter-individual variability in a human organotypic thyroid assay to establish benchmarks and acceptance criteria.
- Define chemical training sets for the technical validation of human organotypic thyroid assays.
- Conduct an intra-laboratory validation study to support the standardization and performance assessment of a human organotypic thyroid assay.
- Gain engagement and leadership skills in the design and execution of experimental research in a toxicology laboratory setting.
- Develop technical proficiency in the use and implementation of laboratory automation technologies for high-throughput drug and chemical screening.
- Build expertise in computational toxicology approaches by leading data analysis efforts.
- Gain skills with active participation in project team, branch and division meetings.
- Gain skills with preparing presentations, internal reports and data summaries.
- Gain skills with presenting at scientific conferences.
- Gain skills with authoring manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: August 1, 2026. All start dates are flexible and vary depending on numerous factors.
Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year and may be renewed three to four additional years upon EPA recommendation and subject to availability of funding.
Level of Participation: The appointment is full-time.
Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. The anticipated stipend range is $77,983 - $93,468 annually.
Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.
EPA Security Clearance: Completion of a successful background investigation by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is required for an applicant to be on-boarded at EPA.
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 EPA. Participants do not become employees of EPA, 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.
ORISE offers all ORISE EPA graduate students and Postdocs a free 5 year membership to the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA).
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 see the FAQ section of our website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE.EPA.Other@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 (cell/molecular biology, biochemistry, toxicology, environmental science, or a closely related field). Degree must have been received within the past five years.
Preferred Skills
- Knowledge and experience with the application of primary mammalian cells for the development, optimization, and implementation of simple and complex organotypic models and assays.
- Proficiency with the operation of laboratory automation and analytical technologies.
- Experience with basic statistical methods and software (e.g. GraphPad Prism) or object-oriented programming (R, Python).
- Demonstrated ability to communicate scientific findings through peer-reviewed publications and oral presentations.
$77,983.00 – $93,468.00 Yearly
Point of Contact
Ashley
Eligibility Requirements">14 )
- Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
- Degree: Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 month(s).
- Discipline(s):
- Environmental and Marine Sciences (
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Salary : $77,983 - $93,468