[Remote] Public Health Data Analytics Student

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. USAJOBS is offering a volunteer project-based opportunity for students through the Semester of Service Program, allowing them to gain hands-on experience in public health data analytics. The role involves using data analytics and machine learning to advance food safety, with responsibilities including extracting virulence factor profiles and conducting trend analyses.

Responsibilities

• Extract the detailed virulence factors (VF) profiles from the available strains (potentially along with antimicrobial and heavy-metal resistance genes) in the NIH-National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Pathogen Detection (PD) system
• Collect the corresponding metadata, including serotype, source, date of isolation, geography, etc. and link the metadata to the VF profiles
• Conduct VF trend analyses describing how virulence profiles vary across source, time, and geography
• Identify specific VFs, or groups of VFs, that are more highly associated with more severe human health outcomes
• Provide evidence-based information to support regulatory decisions on the use of VF data for improving public health
• Leverage publicly available data from the NCBI-PD Isolate Browser, coupled with advanced data analytics and machine learning to complete the noted aims of the study and gain a very valuable set of skills to aid in their future career efforts
• Provide a report and give a presentation to agency senior officials

Skills

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S National studying in the U.S. or abroad. International students on valid visas may participate if they meet applicable immigration, visa, and agency authorities
• Be enrolled not less than half-time in an accredited trade school, technical or vocational institute, junior college, college, university, or other accredited educational institution
• Be in good academic standing as defined by your institution
• Commit to volunteering 8 - 20 hours per week for a minimum of 90 days
• Complete all required onboarding documentation assigned by the Federal agency and your academic institution
• Agree to volunteer. This position is unpaid. No compensation, stipends, or hiring preference will be granted from this work. You may use this volunteer experience to qualify for future jobs you choose to apply for
• Agree to understanding volunteers are not Federal employees
• Experience working with data handling and analyses, including proficiency in statistical coding languages such as Python
• Experience using AI tools and machine learning approaches on large, complex databases

Benefits

• Student volunteers are not considered Federal employees for any purpose other than injury compensation and laws related to the Federal Tort Claims Act, and service is not creditable for leave accrual or other employee benefits.
• Student volunteers must complete all required safety training, background checks, and comply with agency security protocols.
• Participation must be with the permission of the institution at which the volunteer intern is enrolled.

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