EPA Internship: Analytical Chemist to Support New Approach Methodology and Endocrine Disruption

*Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis and applications may close before the deadline.

EPA Office/Lab and Location: A research opportunity is currently available at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), located in Durham, North Carolina. 

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: With thousands of commercial chemicals entering the environment, traditional animal-reliant safety assessments can no longer keep pace with the demand for rapid hazard and exposure data. To bridge this gap, EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention is pioneering in vitro 'New Approach Method' (NAM) testing strategies to enable fast, cost-effective screening, prioritization, and human health risk assessments. This specific internship is deeply anchored within the analytical chemistry foundation necessary to validate and drive these alternative strategies forward.

As an intern on our team, you will gain experience with EPA’s Risk Assessment Support Division by learning about analytical chemistry method development, validation, and execution. Your primary learning objective will be designing robust sample preparation and quantitative analysis procedures to track chemical concentrations and stability within complex in vitro and biochemical assay matrices, specifically targeted at biological perturbations such as endocrine disruption.

Learning Objectives: Under the guidance of a mentor, you will learn to operate and troubleshoot advanced instrumentation, utilizing high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and liquid/gas chromatography (LC-MS/MS, GC-MS/MS) to generate high-quality, reproducible kinetic profiles. By pairing your rigorous analytical measurements with exposure-dose and toxicokinetic modeling, you will directly enable the team to translate laboratory data into 'equivalent doses,' allowing scientists to compare systemic configurations against anticipated exposure levels to evaluate overall risk (hazard exposure = risk).

Learning objectives include:

• Advanced Method Development & Validation: Gain hands-on experience in designing, optimizing, and validating highly sensitive, selective analytical chemistry methods to extract and quantify trace-level organic chemicals across diverse and challenging biological and cell-culture matrices.
• High-Throughput Analytical Instrumentation: Master the operation, calibration, and troubleshooting of advanced instrumentation, including ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole and high-resolution mass spectrometers (UHPLC-MS/MS, Q-TOF).
• In Vitro Toxicokinetics (IVTK) Characterization: Develop proficiency in calculating chemical parameters, including hepatic metabolic clearance rates, plasma/media protein binding, and chemical stability, which are vital for determining points of departure for endocrine disruption pathways.
• Data Analysis Automation & Quality Assurance: Learn to implement automated data processing pipelines for mass spectrometry datasets, apply rigorous QA/QC metrics, and maintain strict data integrity practices matching good laboratory practices (GLP).
• Regulatory Integration & Cross-Disciplinary Teamwork: Understand how raw analytical chemistry data directly translates through exposure models to shape EPA screening, prioritization, and toxicological policy decisions, while enhancing collaborative communication across chemical and biological domains.

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Deon Moore (moore.deon@epa.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: December 8, 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.

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.

Questions: Please see the FAQ section of our website. If you have additional questions about the application process, please email ORISE.EPA.OCSPP@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Salary : $52,693 - $64,453