EPA Internship

About the Role

A research opportunity is currently available at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. This opportunity focuses on applying cell-based high-throughput profiling assays for human health screening.

Research Project

The Risk Assessment Support Division (RASD) within the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) is developing tools and approaches to modernize chemical risk assessment, incorporating efficient, non-traditional toxicity testing strategies. Current projects involve using in vitro new approach methodologies (NAMs), specifically high-throughput profiling assays, to characterize the biological activity of chemicals in human or non-human cell types and inform chemical risk assessment. Established assays include:

• Imaging-based high-throughput phenotypic profiling (HTPP) using the Cell Painting assay.
• High-throughput transcriptomics (HTTr) using targeted RNA-Seq.

These assays are compatible with various human and non-human derived cell types and provide information on numerous toxicologically relevant biological targets and cellular processes affected by chemicals.

Learning Objectives

Under the guidance of a mentor, you will learn to:

• Culture human cell lines.
• Design and conduct high-throughput chemical bioactivity screens using laboratory automation.
• Execute high-throughput chemical screening experiments using HTPP and HTTr.
• Apply computational concentration-response modeling and profile similarity approaches to analyze and interpret high-throughput profiling data.
• Synthesize results for publications and presentations.

Participatory Activities And Opportunities For Gained Experience Include

• Hands-on participation in experimental research in a toxicology laboratory setting.
• Building experience in computational toxicology approaches by leading data analysis efforts.
• Active participation in project team, branch, and division meetings.
• Preparing presentations, internal reports, and data summaries.
• Presenting at scientific conferences.
• Co-authoring manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Cell culture
• Laboratory automation
• Imaging-based high-throughput phenotypic profiling (HTPP)
• Cell Painting assay
• High-throughput transcriptomics (HTTr)
• Targeted RNA-Seq
• Computational concentration-response modeling
• Profile similarity approaches
• Toxicology laboratory setting
• Computational toxicology approaches
• Scientific conferences
• Peer-reviewed journals

Qualifications

• Received a bachelor's or master's degree in one of the following fields: biology, toxicology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, bioinformatics, computational biology, computational chemistry, chemistry, or a related field.
• Degree must have been received within the past five years.

Preferred Skills

• Cell culture experience (e.g., plating, maintaining, freezing animal cells using aseptic technique)
• Experience with microscopy (bright field, phase contrast, fluorescence, confocal)
• Previous experience with high content imaging datasets
• Previous experience with transcriptomics datasets
• Computational skills (e.g., programming, R-based statistics)
• Courses in biostatistics and/or bioinformatics
• Familiarity with literature search tools and strategies
• Skills in oral and written communication
• Previous research experience, beyond lab-oriented courses alone.

Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship: LPR or U.S. Citizen
• Degree: Bachelor's Degree or Master's Degree received within the last 60 months.
• Discipline(s): Computer, Information, and Data Sciences; Environmental and Marine Sciences; Life Health and Medical Sciences; Mathematics and Statistics.

Application Instructions

To submit your application, scroll to the bottom of this opportunity and click APPLY.

A complete application consists of:

• An application
• Transcripts
• A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list.
• One educational or professional recommendation.

All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis and may close before the deadline.

Appointment Details

• Anticipated Appointment Start Date: Fall/Winter 2026.
• Appointment Length: Initially one year, renewable for three to four additional years.
• Level of Participation: Full time.

Stipend

$4,391.00 – $5,371.00 Monthly

Contact Information

• Mentor: Clinton Willis (willis.clinton@epa.gov)
• Application Process Questions: ORISE.EPA.OCSPP@orau.org (include reference code EPA-OCSPP-2026-0014)