FDA Research Fellowship - Automated Identification of Adverse Events from Drug Labeling

Organization: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER).

Location:

Little Rock, Arkansas. The appointment will be physically stationed at FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) in Jefferson, Arkansas.

Reference Code: FDA-CDER-

The research project aims to develop methods for efficiently recognizing Adverse Events (AEs) in drug labeling by leveraging advanced AI technologies and MedDRA terminologies. The project will integrate RxBERT with MedDRA to enhance AE extraction accuracy and explore large language models such as Llama and FDA’s GenAI tool, Elsa, for zero‑shot and few‑shot learning.

• Develop and implement AI-based algorithms for adverse event recognition in labeling documents.
• Build web‑based tools to support dataset collection.
• Evaluate the performance and validate developed AI methods.
• Collaborate with mentors and interdisciplinary teams.

• Currently pursuing or hold a master’s or doctoral degree in a relevant field (e.g., Computer Science, Data Science, Biomedical Informatics).
• Strong background in AI/ML, language models, or related computational methods.
• Experience with Python, natural language processing, and statistical evaluation.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
• Eligibility to complete a background investigation by OPM.

Submit a complete application including the following items:

• Completed application form.
• Official transcripts.
• Current resume/CV.
• One educational or professional recommendation.

All documents must be in English or include an official English translation. Send your application via the portal and email any questions to ORISE.FDA.CDER, including the reference code. Applications are accepted until 8/28/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone
.

Ashley (contact details on the application portal).

The appointment will be for one year, may be renewed, and full time. A monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience will be provided. Proof of health insurance is required. Participants are not employees of FDA or DOE and receive no employment‑related benefits.