EPA Internship: Mode-of-Action Inference from High-Throughput Transcriptomics and Phenotypic Profiling Data

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education; Milwaukee (WI); Presencial; USD 74.000 - 100.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Monthly stipend

Descripción de la vacante

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education seeks a doctoral-level candidate to join an EPA research opportunity in chemical safety assessments using new approach methodologies. You will work on computational and laboratory activities under mentorship, contributing to regulatory science.

The role emphasizes sequencing data analysis, bioinformatics, and collaborative research with EPA scientists, starting Fall/Winter 2026. This is a full-time ORISE appointment through NRC funding.

Formación

• Pursuing or holding a doctoral degree in biology, toxicology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, bioinformatics, or a related field.
• Degree must be earned within the past five years, or be currently pursuing.
• Experience with sequencing data and bioinformatics is preferred.
• Strong written, oral, and electronic communication skills.
• Ability to work in a team and interact with EPA scientists.

Responsabilidades

• Apply computational pipelines and statistical analyses to complex biological data sets.
• Summarize scientific information from literature and online sources.
• Extract biomolecules such as RNA and DNA from samples.
• Develop and evaluate new methodologies for toxicity testing.
• Test chemicals using diverse in vitro and high-throughput approaches.
• Contribute to weight-of-evidence evaluations and report results.
• Present research findings at meetings and aid in publications.

Conocimientos

Computational skills

Literature search

Biotech lab skills

Nucleic acid techniques

Communication skills

Educación

Doctoral degree in biology or related field

Herramientas

R programming

Sequencing data analysis

Descripción del empleo

Organization

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Reference Code

EPA-OCSPP-2026-0012

Application Deadline

12/4/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

Description

• 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 Research Triangle Park, 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

Due to the large number of chemicals in commerce and subsequently introduced into the environment, chemical safety assessments based on traditional animal testing have been unable to keep pace with the need to generate hazard information to support screening, prioritization, and both human health and ecological risk assessment. To address this, EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention is developing and evaluating alternative testing approaches (termed "new approach methodologies") for generating toxicity information in a more rapid and cost-effective manner while still providing data that are equivalent to or better than that derived from traditional testing.

You will be integrated into a transdisciplinary research team and engaged in multiple aspects of project planning, communication, research implementation, and analysis. You will be afforded an opportunity to interact with internationally recognized leaders, both within and outside EPA. You will have the opportunity to contribute to original research and associated publications. It is expected that this training opportunity will provide you with knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to apply new technologies, analyses, and associated data to regulatory decision-making at the local, national, and/or international scale and to a professional career in life sciences research.

With guidance from mentor(s), you may be involved in any or all of the following training activities:

• Applying computational pipelines, bioinformatic approaches, statistical analyses, and quality assurance/quality control principles to complex biological data sets including those from next generation sequencing-based technologies.
• Compiling and summarizing scientific information from the peer-reviewed literature and from on-line data sources.
• Extracting biomolecules such as RNA and DNA from animal tissues.
• Developing methods to edit genome using CRISPR-based systems
• Testing chemicals or chemical mixtures for biological activity using a diversity of cell-free, cell-based, and/or high throughput testing approaches.
• Conducting weight of evidence-based evaluations based on Bradford Hill considerations.
• Analyzing experimental data and generating tables, figures, and other summaries of results.
• Presenting research results at scientific meetings and contributing to peer-reviewed publications.

Learning Objectives

You will learn a diversity of computational and laboratory techniques which can be applied across life sciences research fields. You will learn how to implement data evaluations and analyses for complex biological data to conduct putative hazard identification. You will learn to operate and use a range of scientific equipment. You will learn to research with tissues, cell culture, and/or biochemical assays. You will learn search strategies and tools to efficiently and transparently document literature retrieval and evaluation. You will learn to evaluate data quality, trouble shoot research results, and apply statistical methods for data analysis and interpretation.

Mentor(s)

Brian Chorley ([e-mail])

Anticipated Appointment Start Date

Fall/Winter 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 and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) 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 [e-mail] and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a doctoral degree in the one of the relevant fields (biology, toxicology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, bioinformatics, computational biology, or a related field). Degree must have been received within the past five years, or be currently pursuing.

Received doctoral preferred, but applicants whom are currently pursuing a doctorate degree (e.g., PhD, MD, etc.) will also be considered.

Preferred Skills

• Computational skills (e.g., programming, R-based statistics)
• Familiarity with literature search tools and strategies
• Courses in biostatistics and/or bioinformatics; experience with sequencing data preferred
• Strong written, oral, and electronic communication skills
• Lab course or experience with general laboratory techniques associated with nucleic acid work (nuclease-free environment) and aseptic technique (cell culture)
• Experience with basic molecular biology techniques used for analysis of proteins and nucleic acids (e.g., gel electrophoresis, PCR, quantitative real-time PCR, use of thermocyclers and/or bioanalyzers, etc.)

Stipend

$7,789.00 Monthly

Point of Contact

Rachel

Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship: LPR or U.S. Citizen
• Degree: Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or currently pursuing.
• Discipline(s):
  • Chemistry and Materials Sciences (
  • Bio-organic Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
• Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (1 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (51 )