Canku Ota

(Many Paths)

An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America

April 19, 2003 - Issue 85

The Center for Disease Control Needs You!!
Resource Page Two

by Mike Snesrud - Senior Tribal Liaison for Policy and Evaluation

Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine (ATPM) Training Project

Who is Eligible: Graduate students, early career professionals, established academic faculty and other public health professionals.

Description: ATPM offers a variety of training opportunities. Participants gain experience in highly respected governmental organizations, and will use the skills they learn throughout their careers in public health. Opportunities are available for those with varying levels of experience, and are offered at many different locations throughout the United States.

Career Development Opportunities
These opportunities are intended to create stronger linkages between academic institutions, public health practice and public health policy. The programs is designed for academic faculty and established public health professionals. The location of these career development opportunities may be either at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or at State, county or local health department sites working in collaboration with the CDC. Upon completion, it is expected that the awardee will return to the academic or practice arena with a better understanding of the public health practice at the federal level and the decision making process in determining health policy. The awardee will gain an increased ability to further assure that effective health policy is carried out at all levels including local, national and international.

Participants may take advantage of this opportunity in one of two ways:

• The applicant may respond to an advertised career development opportunity. Positions are announced throughout the year, and are designed to strengthen the link between academic institutions and public health practice.
• Investigator Initiated: The applicant may submit an application for a career development opportunity that they propose. The project proposal must prove that the activity has potential to improve the interaction between public health academicians and public health practitioners and to enhance the overall education and training of public health workers. The proposal must also meet the objectives established by the ATPM/CDC cooperative agreement.
  

Preventive Medicine and Public Health Fellowship Program
One to two year fellowship positions are available at public health agencies such as the CDC and the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). The program provides leadership training in public health practice and policy to preventive medicine and primary care residents; masters, doctoral and post-doctoral level graduate students; and early career professionals (with a minimum of a masters degree.)

The Fellow will receive multi-disciplinary training at the national level in a specialty area of preventive medicine and public health, gain first-hand knowledge of our nation's public health systems, be well-versed in the policy issues affecting the public health infrastructure, and will personally contribute to an initiative of national importance related to the mission of the Public Health Service.

Short-Term Training/Internships
The purpose of this project is to provide hands-on training experiences in public health graduate students. Students may take advantage of this opportunity in one of two ways:

• Student-Investigator Initiated Short-Term Training: Eligible applicants are invited to submit a brief description of a proposed research or training activity. Training/research activities may be completed at the applicant's academic institution and or at the funding agency, within a maximum six-month period.
• Internship Program: ATPM's federal partners develop internship positions depending on their need for the participation of public health and preventive medicine students. Position assignments vary, but most are twelve week positions offered in the summer or fall. Internship opportunities will be announced in the fall, for completion the following summer.
  

Pay: Stipends. Fellows receive an annual stipend of $33,012. Interns receive $5,000 for a 12-week training experience. Career Development Awardees receive compensation commensurate to their current earnings.

Duration: Varies.

Contact: Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine, 1660 L Street, NW, Suite 208, Washington, D.C. 20036. Phone: (202) 463-0550, Fax: (202) 463- 0555, Website: www.atpm.org

Deadline: Varies.

Bilingual/Bicultural Program

Who is Eligible: Individuals who have a bachelors degree and proficiency in Spanish and/or knowledge of Hispanic culture.

Description: The program authorizes the direct-hire of individuals into various GS-5 and GS-7 grade level positions in which candidate's performance would be improved as a result of Spanish language proficiency or knowledge of Hispanic culture. The authority could most appropriately be used by any program that provides advice, services or information to the public if a substantial number of inquiries come from persons who communicate most effectively in Spanish, or programs that serve a substantial Hispanic constituency if knowledge of Hispanic culture could improve public awareness or acceptance of the programs.

To be appointed under the program, a candidate must meet basic requirements for the position being filled and demonstrate appropriate bilingual/bicultural abilities. Individuals can be selected independent of their standing on any competitive register.

The appointments may only be made in specific occupations previously covered under the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's Administrative Careers with America (ACWA). The occupations include: Health, Safety and Environmental Occupations; Writing and Public Information Occupations; Business, Finance and Management Occupations; Personnel, Administration and Computer Occupations; and Law Enforcement and Investigation Occupations.

Pay: Salary.

Duration: Career-Conditional/Career

Contact: CDC Job Information Center at (770) 488-1725

Deadline: Year round.

Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) Advanced Training Laboratory Fellowship

Who is Eligible: Bachelor and master degree graduates with a concentration in microbiology, virology or related discipline and/or completed an accredited medical technologist program by program initiation. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and must be able to start appointment at a Host Laboratory as well as participate in an orientation session at CDC/Atlanta following the program time line..

Description: This fellowship provides an emphasis on the practical application of technologies, methodologies and practices related to emerging infectious diseases. Fellows will be placed within federal (CDC), state, or local public health laboratories and receive advanced infectious disease laboratory related training. The training will be customized for each Fellow based upon infectious disease areas of interest, high priority laboratory personnel needs, and host laboratory capabilities. A specific objective-based curriculum will be developed for each Fellow focusing on one/two areas such as: vaccine preventable diseases, drug-resistant pathogens, molecular methods, vector-borne or zoonotic diseases, foodborne illnesses, waterborne illnesses, sexually transmitted diseases, imported infectious, computer and systems support, applications of vector or animal control, diagnostic testing methods and instrumentation.

Additional fellowship curriculum requirements may include (1) participation in a field investigation or special laboratory assignment assist in the investigation of a disease outbreak; (2) participation in seminar series/teleconference; and/or (3) participation in management training courses.

Pay: Stipend. Individual medical insurance coverage is provided. Funds to travel to the host laboratory are provided. Relocation funds are not provided. Dependency allowances are not authorized. Each fellow will receive the customary leave and holidays of the host laboratory.

Duration: One year.

Contact: Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), 1211 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 608, Washington, D.C. 20036. Phone: (202) 822-5227, Fax: (202) 887-5098, Web Address: http://www.aphl.org , E-mail: fellowships@aphl.org

Deadline: Varies.

Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) Post-Doctoral Fellowship Program

Who is Eligible: Applicants must have received a Ph.D., M.D./D.O., or D.V.M. or have completed all requirements for such a degree prior to program orientation. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and must be able to start appointment at a Host Laboratory as well as participate in an orientation session at CDC/Atlanta following the program time line.

Description: The program has an emphasis on research or professional development in infectious diseases. Fellowships will be awarded to conduct applied research or development in areas relevant to public health including development and evaluation of diagnostic and subtyping techniques; antimicrobial sensitivity and assessment of mechanisms of resistance; principles and practices of vector or animal control; improved methodologies for environmental sampling, testing, and evaluation. Fellows are then placed within federal (CDC), state, or local public health laboratories to conduct approved research. Additional fellowship curriculum requirements may include: (1) participation in a field investigation or special laboratory assignment to assist in the investigation of a disease outbreak; (2) participation in "research in progress" and other seminar series; (3) presentation of research results at local or national meetings; (4) publication of research results in peer-reviewed journal; and/or (5) participation in appropriate management training courses.

Pay: Stipend. Individual medical insurance coverage is provided. Funds to travel to the host laboratory are provided. Relocation funds are not provided. Dependency allowances are not authorized. Each Fellow will receive the customary leave and holidays of the host laboratory.

Duration: Two years.

Contact: EHLS Fellowship Program, Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), 1211 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 608, Washington, D.C. 20036. Phone: (202) 822-5227, Fax: (202) 887-5098, Web Address: www.aphl.org, E-mail: fellowships@aphl.org

Deadline: Varies

Environmental Health Laboratory Sciences (EHLS)
Post-doctoral Research Fellowship Program

Who is Eligible: Applicants must have received a Ph.D. or other appropriate doctoral degree or have completed all requirements for such a degree before date of program initiation. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or maintain permanent residency status. Applicants must be able to participate in the orientation session at CDC/Atlanta and start appointment at CDC or the host laboratory by program timeline.

Description: Fellowships are awarded to conduct applied research or development in areas relevant to public health including, but not limited to: development, improvement, and application of analytical methods for measuring organic and inorganic toxicants, and their metabolites in physiologic samples collected from humans; development, improvement, and application of methods in molecular biology and biomarker analysis to support studies of special populations and subgroups which are susceptible to injury from environmental toxicants; development, improvement, and application of methods for screening for inborn errors of metabolism, nutritional status, or exposure to tobacco smoke; development and improvement of computer systems for tracking specimens, preparation of reports, data transmission, and laboratory based disease surveillance; development of innovative and sustainable analytical methods suitable for use by local and state environmental health programs, in field settings, and monitoring applications.

All fellows will participate in a 1-week orientation session at CDC/Atlanta to gain an overall understanding of the public health laboratory system and its relation to environmental health surveillance and disease prevention, research, and control. Following this orientation, fellows will be assigned for 1 year to one or more of the specialty laboratories of the Division of Laboratory Sciences (DLS) [one of the three Divisions in the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH)] where they will work side by side with an assigned mentor and other DLS scientists on "real-world"analytical problems and/or research related to the environmental health laboratory mission. During this period they will have opportunities to observe, ask questions, participate in decisions, learn about quality assurance, quality control, laboratory certification, and other issues affecting the modern environmental health laboratory.

During the second year of the fellowship assignment, fellows will be placed within state or local public health (host) laboratories. Each fellow will be assigned an official public health laboratory mentor at the host laboratory. The mentor will provide guidance and supervision for the duration of the fellowship. The fellow will participate in research, laboratory management and resolution of specific laboratory related problems, and/or receive advanced environmental health laboratory-related training. This training will be coordinated with the DLS based training and will be customized for each fellow based upon environmental health areas of interest, high priority laboratory personnel needs, and host laboratory capabilities. As appropriate and available, fellows will receive individual training in epidemiology, public health policy, management and other relevant areas. A specific objective-based curriculum will be developed for each fellow focusing on one or two areas such as analytical methods for organic toxicology and assessment of human exposure to PCBs, dioxins, furans, persistent and nonpersistent pesticides, VOCs; analytical methods for inorganic toxicology and assessment of human exposure to toxic heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, uranium, thorium, etc.; methods for biomarkers of organ system injury from environmental toxicants; techniques in molecular biology including DNA analysis; methods for determining inborn errors of metabolism, nutritional status and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke; laboratory computer and systems support; and other diagnostic testing methods and instrumentation.

Fellows may be assigned initially to the state or local public health (host) laboratories to work with the staff to identify training priorities. This period would be followed by a specific period of training in one or more of the specialty laboratories of the DLS, where they will work side by side with an assigned mentor and other DLS scientists to solve problems or carry out research required by the host public health laboratory. After the DLS training, fellows would return to the host public health laboratory to complete the project and remain there for the duration of the fellowship.

Additional fellowship curriculum requirements may include:

1. Participation in a field investigation or investigation of a suspected toxicant exposure or disease outbreak;
2. participation in "research in progress" and other seminar series;
3. presentation of research results at local or national meetings;
4. publication of research results in peer-reviewed journals; and/or
5. participation in appropriate management training courses. Additionally, fellows may be provided brief rotations with other state or federal agencies relating to environmental health (e.g.: ATSDR, EPA, NIEHS, FDA).
   

At the conclusion of the 2 years each fellow will return to DLS to evaluate the program, describe applications of information and technologies in the state or local public health laboratory and discuss areas for continued interaction between DLS and the public health laboratories.

Pay: The annual stipend is $29,500 which may be augmented by the host public health laboratory. Dependency allowances are not authorized from PHS grant funds. Single medical insurance coverage is provided. Funds to travel to the host public health laboratory are provided. Funding for relocation is not provided. Each fellow will receive the customary leave and holidays of the host laboratory.

Duration: Two years. Fellows will spend one year at DLS/NCEH in Atlanta and one year at a State public health laboratory.

Contact: EHLS Fellowship Program, Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), 1211 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 608, Washington, D.C. 20036. Phone: (202) 822-5227, Fax: (202) 887-5098, Web Address: www.aphl.org, E-mail: fellowships@aphl.org

Deadline: Varies.

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