CDC Postdoctoral Fellowship with the Zoonosis and Discovery Team

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA is offering a postdoctoral fellowship through ORISE. The position is within the Zoonosis and Discovery Team, CRVLB, CORVD, NCIRD, CDC, and focuses on cutting-edge molecular methods and sequencing for public health research.

Fellows will develop and apply advanced molecular and sequencing approaches to detect and characterize known, emerging, and novel viruses, with collaboration across epidemiology and lab science teams.

Responsibilities

• Participate in the development and optimization of molecular methods for viral detection.
• Apply high-throughput sequencing approaches to characterize known and novel viruses.
• Review literature and evaluate reagents, technologies, and workflows.
• Collaborate with bioinformaticians to analyze sequence data.
• Prepare scientific findings through reports, posters, and manuscripts.

Job description

Organization

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Reference Code

CDC-2026-0064

Application Deadline

10/30/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

Description

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

CDC Office and Location

A research opportunity is available in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) located 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.

Research Project

A postdoctoral fellowship is available with the Zoonosis and Discovery Team, Coronavirus and Respiratory Viruses Laboratory Branch (CRVLB), Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division (CORVD), National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), CDC.

Research And Training Activities May Include

• Participating in the development, optimization, evaluation, and application of advanced molecular methods and high-throughput sequencing approaches for the detection and characterization of known and novel viruses.
• Reviewing scientific literature and existing protocols and evaluate new reagents, technologies, and laboratory workflows for comprehensive viral detection.
• Developing and evaluating molecular approaches including PCR-based sequencing, targeted NGS, pan-viral enrichment NGS, metagenomic NGS.
• Participating in studies to characterize assay performance, including analytical sensitivity, reproducibility, inclusivity, and other relevant performance characteristics.
• Applying optimized molecular and sequencing methods to specimens from outbreak investigations, surveillance activities, etiologic studies, and zoonotic or emerging infectious disease investigations.
• Participating in viral discovery efforts for respiratory disease and other cases in which routine diagnostic testing does not identify an etiologic agent.
• Engaging with bioinformaticians to evaluate and apply analytical tools and pipelines for sequence data generated by Sanger sequencing, targeted NGS, enrichment NGS, and metagenomic sequencing.
• Analyzing and interpreting sequencing results and integrate laboratory findings with available epidemiologic and specimen information.
• Evaluating emerging sequencing platforms and laboratory technologies for potential applications in public health laboratories.
• Participating in laboratory quality management activities, including method documentation, quality control, specimen management, and laboratory safety.
• Preparing and delivering scientific findings through informal and formal presentations, technical reports, posters, abstracts, and manuscripts.

Activities may be tailored your scientific background, interests, and professional development goals.

Learning Objectives

• Apply advanced molecular and NGS approaches for the detection and characterization of known, emerging, and novel viruses.