CDC Division of Diabetes Translation Epidemiology Fellowship

Reference Code: CDC-2026-0020

About the Organization

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the major operational components of the Department of Health and Human Services. CDC protects America from health, safety, and security threats, both foreign and domestic. 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 critical science and provides health information that protects our nation against expensive and dangerous health threats, and responds when these arise.

About the Role

A research opportunity is available in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) located in Atlanta, Georgia. This role involves training and experience in the analysis of large population-based and healthcare databases within the Division of Diabetes Translation's Surveillance, Epidemiology, Economics and Statistics Branch (SEESB). Under the guidance of experienced CDC scientists, you will participate in epidemiologic and statistical research examining diabetes prevalence, incidence, complications, healthcare utilization, trends, and mortality in the United States. These research activities contribute to CDC's efforts to better understand the burden of diabetes and inform public health strategies to improve prevention, treatment, and health outcomes.

Learning Objectives

• Gain experience conducting analyses of national surveillance datasets (e.g., NHANES, NHIS, BRFSS) and healthcare databases (e.g., Medicare and Medicaid) to examine clinical, behavioral, social, and environmental factors associated with diabetes incidence, prevalence, complications, and trends.
• Learn and apply advanced statistical and machine learning methods, including cluster analysis and predictive modeling, to identify distinct phenotypes of diabetes and characterize factors associated with disease onset, progression, complications, and mortality.
• Gain experience analyzing administrative claims and electronic health data to examine healthcare utilization, quality of care, treatment patterns, and outcomes among individuals with diabetes.
• Participate in systematic reviews and meta-analyses examining factors associated with diabetes prevention, management, self-care, awareness, and health outcomes.
• Strengthen skills in longitudinal analyses of diabetes incidence, prevalence, complications, survival, and mortality.
• Collaborate on research examining diabetes burden, access to care, and health outcomes across demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic populations.
• Gain experience in the preparation of scientific manuscripts, reports, abstracts, and presentations for internal CDC meetings and scientific conferences.
• Strengthen skills in epidemiologic methods, statistical programming, scientific communication, and interdisciplinary collaboration through mentorship and participation in ongoing research activities.

Mentor

The mentor for this opportunity is Stephen Onufrak (seo5@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor.

Appointment Details

• Anticipated Start Date: 2026. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.
• Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year but may be renewed upon recommendation of CDC and is contingent on the availability of funds.
• Level of Participation: The appointment is full time.

Qualifications

• The qualified candidate should have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields (biostatistics, health, or population sciences) within the past five years.

Preferred Skills

• Programming and analytical skills in SAS, SUDAAN, Stata, R, Python, or related data manipulation and analysis software.
• Experience analyzing complex surveys, developing cohort analyses, and testing health outcomes in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.
• Strong scientific and technical writing skills.

Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals. Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens for information about valid immigration statuses.
• Degree: Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months.
• Affirmation: Candidates must certify that they have not previously been employed by CDC or by a contractor working directly for CDC. Exceptions may be granted for individuals who have obtained a new STEM degree necessitating training in a new field since their previous CDC employment.

Benefits

• 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).

Pay

Stipend: $6,581.00 – $7,888.00 per month.