USAMRIID Bio-Threat Assessment and Software Development Research Opportunity at Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education

About the role

As an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) participant, you will engage in a collaborative learning experience alongside a multidisciplinary community of scientists and researchers. Through this fellowship, you will acquire practical, hands-on experience in designing and constructing software tools for Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) and synthetic biology applications.

Learning Objectives

• Bioinformatics Tool Development: Design and develop software tools to analyze large-scale, high-throughput genomics datasets generated from state-of-the-art Oxford Nanopore and Illumina sequencers.
• Synthetic Biology Applications: Build software tools that support synthetic biology research, including CRISPR/Cas systems, molecular engineering, and vaccine/therapeutic delivery platforms.
• Advanced Computational Biology & Software Engineering: Develop computational biology software using both traditional coding suites and emerging AI/Large Language Model (LLM) tools.
• Genomic Sequencing & Bioinformatics: Gain a deep understanding of the biological principles underpinning biosurveillance, viral evolutionary analysis, and biothreat assessment, including methods for field-sequencing and real-time identification of unknown pathogens.
• Applied Synthetic Biology: Translate biological requirements into project-specific digital tools, with exposure to cutting-edge research in CRISPR/Cas technologies and molecular engineering.
• Professional Development: Collaborate within a professional scientific environment, present research findings, and document software code to industry standards.

Where you will be located

Frederick, Maryland

Appointment length

Appointments are initially for one year with the option to extend for up to four additional years, contingent upon project needs and funding availability.

Provisions

• Stipend determined by USAMRIID, typically based on academic standing, discipline, experience, and research facility location.
• Health Insurance Supplement (eligible to purchase health insurance through ORISE).
• Relocation Allowance.
• Training and Travel Allowance.

This opportunity requires a suitability investigation/background investigation; any offer is tentative pending favorable outcome.

About USAMRIID

USAMRIID's reputation has been built by scientists and technical staff working to protect military personnel and civilians from infectious diseases. The Institute supports emerging disease investigations alongside the CDC and WHO, and serves as a reference laboratory for the Department of Defense, setting the standard for biological agent identification. Its workforce includes leading experts in infectious disease and biological defense.

About ORISE

This program is administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under an interagency agreement between DOE and DoD. Participants are affiliated with ORISE for administrative purposes and do not enter an employee/employer relationship with ORISE, ORAU, DoD, or any other agency. Proof of health insurance is required; coverage can be obtained through ORISE.

Qualifications

• Master’s or doctoral degree in data sciences, software engineering, bioinformatics, infectious disease, or related disciplines.
• Degree must have been received within five years of the appointment start date.