CDC Refinement of the NFR Enrollment Questionnaire and Data Presentation Fellowship

*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

CDC Office and Location: An opportunity is currently available with the National Firefighter Registry (NFR) for Cancer, Field Research Branch, in the Division of Field Studies and Engineering (DFSE), within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the major operation components of the Department of Health and Human Services. CDC works to protect 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. Researchers in the Field Research Branch conduct large-scale and in-depth studies examining the effects of workplace exposures on chronic health effects. Areas of focus in FRB include cancer, cardiovascular disease, reproductive health, and health inequity.

Research Project: The selected participant will collaborate with the National Firefighter Registry (NFR) for Cancer. The NFR is the largest effort ever undertaken to understand and reduce risk of cancer among U.S. firefighters.

Learning Objectives:  Depending on the participants skills and under the guidance of a mentor, the participant may be involved in the following activities:

• Contribute to the development of summary statistics for select data in the NFR database, novel and impactful ways of displaying the summary statistics (data visualizations), and discussions of data visualizations with the intended audiences (e.g., fire service professionals and researchers) to gain feedback.
• Conduct reviews of current NFR enrollment tip sheet and contribute to the development of recruitment materials for specific groups of firefighters (e.g., wildland firefighters, fire-cause investigators, or fire instructors) in consultation with the NFR program.
• Train opportunity with the NFR program to identify an under-studied sub-population of the fire service for targeted communications (e.g., firefighters in tribal communities, minority firefighters, wildland firefighters, etc.)
• Participate in informal discussions with organizations representing these groups to obtain input and ideas, and formalization of communications ideas, barriers, key messages, possible products, and/or delivery mechanisms as part of a targeted communications plan.
• Review enrollment system (in the test environment), Identify areas for improvement within the design of the enrollment questionnaire, with special focus on the work history questions.
• Provide suggestions to NFR and NIOSH IT leadership for improving the user experience (UX) with supporting evidence or citations and summarize the evaluation and recommendations for the refinement of the enrollment questionnaire to improve the overall UX (include any barriers to implementation).
• Learn about the requirements for future questionnaires from NFR Program leadership and provide UX recommendations for development of future questionnaires

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Kevin Dunn (kgd8@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: June 4, 2024. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment is short-term, but may be renewed upon recommendation of CDC and is contingent on the availability of funds.

Level of Participation: The appointment is full time.

Participant Stipend: Stipend rates may vary based on numerous factors, including opportunity, location, education, and experience. If you are interviewed, you can inquire about the exact stipend rate at that time and if selected, your appointment offer will include the monthly stipend rate.

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.

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 CDC. Participants do not become employees of CDC, 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.

The successful applicant(s) will be required to comply with Environmental, Safety and Health (ES&H) requirements of the hosting facility, including but not limited to, COVID-19 requirements (e.g. facial covering, physical distancing, testing, vaccination).

Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE.CDC.NIOSH@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should have received or be currently pursuing a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in the one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within the last five years, or is currently pursuing.

Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree: Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, or Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or currently pursuing.