What are the responsibilities and job description for the USDA-APHIS Chronic Wasting Disease Study Fellowship position at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)?
*Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis and applications may close before the deadline.
APHIS Office/Lab and Location: A research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), located in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is a multi-faceted Agency with a broad mission area that includes protecting and promoting U.S. agricultural health, regulating genetically engineered organisms, administering the Animal Welfare Act and carrying out wildlife damage management activities. These efforts support the overall mission of USDA, which is to protect and promote food, agriculture, natural resources and related issues. APHIS' mission also includes addressing issues such as wildlife damage and disease management; regulation of genetically engineered crops and animal welfare; and protection of public health and safety as well as natural resources that are vulnerable to invasive pests and pathogens.
Research Project: You will be a part of the National Wildlife Research Center’s (NWRC) Chronic Wasting Disease Project aimed at delivering research products that protect producers and natural resources from wildlife diseases and damage. You will gain experience with the continued development and implementation of a multistate adaptive management framework for white-tailed deer by colaborating with state wildlife agencies, researchers, and other partners to develop and operationalize a collaborative, cross-jurisdiction experimental approach. You will also help with developing data-sharing agreements and ensuring that experimental interventions and evaluation procedures are scientifically rigorous, logistically feasible, consistently implemented, and capable of supporting regional learning and adaptive management of CWD and deer populations. Additionally, you may have opportunities to contribute to other NWRC-led research activities, including, but not limited to, wildlife immobilization, animal sampling and handling, postmortem examinations, and laboratory-based analyses, including diagnostic assays and other bench techniques used to support wildlife disease research.
Learning Objectives: Under the guidance of a mentor, you will:
- Contribute to the National Wildlife Research Center’s Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Project, learn about research that protects agricultural producers, wildlife, and natural resources.
- Gain experience developing and implementing a multistate adaptive-management framework for white-tailed deer and CWD.
- Collaborate with state wildlife agencies, researchers, and other partners to operationalize cross-jurisdictional management experiments.
- Learn to support development of data-sharing agreements and coordinated research processes across multiple agencies and states.
- Help ensure that management interventions, monitoring methods, and evaluation procedures are scientifically rigorous, logistically feasible, and consistently implemented.
- Develop skills in analyzing and applying data to support regional learning, adaptive management, and decision-making for deer populations and CWD.
- Potentially gain hands-on experience in wildlife immobilization, animal handling, biological sampling, and postmortem examinations.
- Build laboratory and diagnostic skills through participation in assays and other bench techniques supporting wildlife-disease research.
The research will provide training in ecological and epidemiological data collection; integrating ecological and epidemiological components with concurrent human dimensions pilot-study efforts; and data repository design to support long-term data sharing and analysis across collaborating agencies.
Mentor: The mentor for this opportunity is Jennifer Malmberg (jennifer.malmberg@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor.
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: December 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 extended upon recommendation of USDA APHIS and is contingent on the availability of funds.
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 $65,000 - $75,000 yearly, with an additional health insurance stipend supplement and a budget for travel to conferences and meetings.
Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens.
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 APHIS. Participants do not become employees of USDA, APHIS, 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.
Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process, please email USDA-APHIS@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.
Salary : $65,000 - $75,000