EPA Fellowship: Quantification and Modeling of Chemical Partitioning and Fate in Throughpu

Organization

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

EPA-OCSPP-OPP-IO-

8/28/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

A research opportunity is currently available at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), located in Duluth, Minnesota.

Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention is developing and evaluating alternative testing approaches ("new approach methodologies") to generate toxicity information more rapidly and cost‑effectively while ensuring data are equivalent or better than traditional methods. The Risk Assessment Support division employs high‑throughput test methods using small aquatic organisms exposed in 96‑well plate formats. Projects focus on quantification of chemical concentrations, evaluation of novel delivery strategies, and development of computational models of chemical partitioning and fate.

• Developing analytical methods for quantifying organic contaminants in water.
• Quantifying contaminants using gas or liquid chromatography coupled to high‑resolution mass spectrometry.
• Developing and evaluating exposure strategies suitable for methodologically challenging chemicals such as highly non‑polar substances, volatile chemicals, reactive chemicals, etc.
• Developing and applying methods for extracting organic contaminants from environmental matrices including surface waters, effluents, animal and plant tissues, soil, sediment, etc.
• Performing data quality assurance and quality control in analytical chemistry software.
• Developing predictive fate and partitioning models based on chemical properties and structures.
• Conducting molecular, biochemical, physiological, and/or histological analyses on biofluids and tissue samples collected from aquatic organisms.
• Processing and analyzing large, high‑content data sets using both existing and novel computational pipelines.
• Analyzing experimental data and generating tables, figures, and other summaries of results.
• Conducting statistical analyses including hypothesis testing, regression‑based approaches, multivariate statistics, concordance analyses, etc.
• Presenting research results at scientific meetings and contributing to peer‑reviewed publications.

Participants will develop a diverse set of skills in environmental analytical chemistry and high‑throughput toxicity testing, learning to operate and maintain scientific instruments and laboratory automation systems, and gaining hands‑on experience with aquatic organisms, analytical instrumentation, and associated software platforms. They will learn to evaluate data quality, troubleshoot experimental results, and apply statistical methods for data analysis and interpretation within a transdisciplinary research team.

Deon Moore (moore.deon)

Anticipated start date:
September 1, 2026. Duration: initially one year with potential renewal up to three or four additional years upon EPA recommendation and funding availability. Participation level: full time.

$52,500 – $64,000 annually (annual range commensurate with educational level and experience).

U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents only.

Completion of a successful background investigation by the Office of Personnel Management is required for onboarding at EPA.

• Currently pursuing or having received a master’s or doctoral degree in chemistry or related sub‑disciplines such as analytical chemistry, environmental chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, computational chemistry, or physical chemistry.
• Strong analytical, computational, and statistical skills; experience with chromatography, mass spectrometry, or similar analytical techniques is preferred.

• Citizenship: U.S. citizen only.
• Degree:
  Master’s or Doctoral degree.
• Discipline:
  Chemistry and related sub‑disciplines such as analytical chemistry, bio‑organic chemistry, biophysical chemistry, general chemistry, environmental chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry. Other eligible fields include computer information and data sciences, earth and geosciences, life health and medical sciences, and mathematics and statistics.