FDA Fellowship in Wastewater Surveillance Testing

Description

The FDA Fellowship in Wastewater Surveillance Testing is available to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a degree in a life health or medical sciences-related field. You must be a U.S. citizen to be eligible for this internship. Preference will be given to applicants who have experience with foodborne pathogens in a laboratory setting, are familiar with platforms that generate next-generation sequence data, are proficient in Microsoft Office and Linux, and have a working understanding of genomics and biology as it relates to whole-genome sequencing, de novo genome assembly, and QC/QA of whole-genome sequence data. As a fellow, you will assist in the development of metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing workflows that can be implemented and integrated into the framework of wastewater surveillance testing methods for SC2. Specifically, nucleic acid extraction protocols to target SC2 will be optimized to reduce viral genome degradation, mitigate common inhibitors in wastewater samples, enhance sequence quality, and ease of use and automation. This fellowship is located in College Park, MD, at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN).