CDC Fellowship in Bioactive Dietary Compound Biomarker Method Development, Validation, and Implementation

Organization

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

CDC-

11/6/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

A research opportunity is available with the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the major operation components of the Department of Health and Human Services. CDC protects 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.

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 important science and provides health information that protects our nation against expensive and dangerous health threats, and responds when these arise.

The Bioactive Dietary Compounds Laboratory (BDCL), within the Nutritional Biomarkers Branch (NBB), Division of Laboratory Sciences (DLS), National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), develops and applies analytical methods for measuring biomarkers of exposure to bioactive dietary compounds in human specimens. The project focuses on improving the assessment of dietary exposures and supporting research on their relationships with health. Mentor-guided learning activities may draw upon biomonitoring projects associated with CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and similar epidemiological studies of the U.S. population.

You may gain experience with state-of-the-art liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and, when available and appropriate, the laboratory’s unique gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-IRMS) capabilities. The project connects analytical chemistry theory with practice through method development, validation, documentation, quality systems, data interpretation, laboratory safety, and scientific communication. All activities will occur under the mentorship of sponsor laboratory scientists in a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-accredited setting and are intended to provide experiential learning rather than fulfill essential agency functions.

This 1-year fellowship, with a possible extension as funding permits, may provide the following mentor-guided learning opportunities. You may not receive exposure to every objective; specific experiences will be selected based on scientific relevance, your preparation, available learning activities, and the stage of the biomonitoring project associated with the appointment.

• Analytical method development and optimization
  - You may gain experience designing and carrying out mentor-guided experiments for biomarker measurement, including sample preparation, chromatographic separation, mass spectrometric detection, calibration, and evaluation of matrix effects, sensitivity, selectivity, and potential analytical interferences.
• Method evaluation and validation
  - You may learn to prepare validation plans, assess performance characteristics such as accuracy, precision, analytical measurement range, limits of detection, specificity, recovery, stability, and carryover, interpret experimental findings, and prepare a validation summary under mentor guidance.
• Translation of validated methods to epidemiological studies
  - You may learn the scientific and quality considerations involved in…