Anna Feerick

Do you want to work in a fast-paced environment with a multi-disciplinary group of researchers and community collaborators working at the nexus of environmental health science, community-based participatory research, and environmental justice?

The Sustainability and Health Equity (SHE) Lab at the University of California, Berkeley seeks highly motivated applicants for a postdoctoral position to work on a project applying analytical chemistry methods and novel computational and statistical techniques to analyze complex high resolution mass spectrometry data involving non-targeted chemical analysis to characterize the presence of environmental chemical exposures in drinking water samples. This exciting work will be guided by a team of multidisciplinary scientists in environmental health science, analytical chemistry, and computational methods at UC Berkeley, US EPA, UCLA, as well as the Community Water Center. The position will primarily be based at the US EPA’s research facilities in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

The SHE Lab is a multi-disciplinary and committed group of scientists, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students, and community collaborators who advance scientific inquiry and knowledge, professional training, research translation, and environmental policies to reduce the impacts of toxic chemicals and other environmental hazards on human health. Based in the School of Public Health and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, the SHE Lab investigates the health equity and environmental justice implications of a wide range of environmental health hazards, from toxic chemicals to climate change. We seek to advance scientific understanding of structural determinants of environmental health with a focus on inequality, racism, psychosocial stress and how these factors interact with environmental chemical exposures to produce health inequalities. We also mentor and promote early career scientists by supporting their training and enhancing their capacity to engage in environmental health research, policy, and education.

The SHE lab also collaborates with other scientists, communities, and regulators to develop science-policy tools for assessing the cumulative impacts of chemical and non-chemical stressors to improve regulatory decision-making and advance environmental justice. This work
has served as a foundation for Cal-EPA’s CalEnviroScreen, US EPA’s EJSCREEN, and the Biden Administration’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool. Other tools include Toxic Tides, which projects sea-level rise flooding threats to hazardous sites in environmental justice
communities, and the Drinking Water Tool, which characterizes drinking water quality and access threats for communities relying on public water systems and domestic wells.

Some of our projects include:

• Conducting community-driven water equity studies to reduce chemical contamination and improve community access to safe drinking water (UC Berkeley Superfund Research Center’s Water Equity Science Shop).
• Examining the effects of prenatal chemical exposures (using targeted and non-targeted analytical techniques) and chronic social stressors on birth outcomes and infant development;
• Conducting targeted and non-targeted human biomonitoring for potential breast carcinogens in women workers, including firefighters, office workers, nurses, hospital staff, and domestic workers (Women Worker Biomonitoring Collaborative).

The postdoc will be hired by UC Berkeley but spend the majority of their time working with EPA’s Office of Research and Development, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure (CCTE), Chemical Characterization Division. CCTE strives to utilize the latest advancements in analytical chemistry, toxicology, and informatics. As such, the postdoc will be expected to extract
samples, collect high resolution mass spectrometry data, process that data using advanced software or custom scripts, and integrate the results with chemical hazard profiles. The postdoc will be expected to present and publish findings.

Knowledge/Skills:
The ideal candidate will have a strong background in analytical chemistry, computational and statistical methods, environmental health, and cheminformatics. Excellent problem-solving skills, creative and interdisciplinary thinking, and the ability to learn and work with multiple software tools are required. Because the successful candidate will be undertaking lab work at US EPA in North Carolina applicants must be a US citizen.

The successful candidate must have:

• PhD in epidemiology, biostatistics, analytical chemistry, computational informatics, environmental health science, cheminformatics, or other relevant environmental health or engineering related field.
• Strong programming skills in R, Python, Stata and/or SAS or other relevant software.
• Experience with mass spectrometry/metabolomics analysis and data processing.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Track record of published or forthcoming peer-reviewed publications.

The postdoc will join an interdisciplinary group of scientists at UC Berkeley, US EPA, and UCLA. They will also interact with our collaborators at the Community Water Center, a community-based water justice organization supporting low-income communities of color struggling with drinking water quality and access challenges in California’s San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast regions. The Postdoctoral Scientist will be advised by and work closely with Drs. Rachel Morello-Frosch, Seth Newton (US EPA) and Lara Cushing (UCLA). The appointment is for two years. Start date is in the first quarter of 2025. The initial appointment will be at 100% time for two years with the possibility of extension based on satisfactory performance and availability of funding. The postdoc must complete a security background check in order to access EPA facilities.

Interested candidates should submit the following application materials to:
Lauren Baehner baehnerl@berkeley.edu
Seth Newton Newton.Seth@epa.gov

1. a cover letter that includes a statement of relevant research experience and interests,
2. a curriculum vita,
3. pdf copies of a recent publication or writing sample,
4. contact information of three references. Any solicited letters or references will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law.

Specific questions regarding the recruitment can be directed to Lauren Baehner, Research Coordinator baehnel@berkeley.edu.

Salary and Benefits:
This position provides full benefits. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience and will range from $70,000 plus benefits. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see:
http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct

Application Deadline: 11/22/2024 11:59:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

Reference Code: EPA-ORD-CEMM-ACESD-2024-01A

Research Project: Non-targeted analysis (NTA) has been increasingly used in recent years to elucidate structures of novel per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), however, the majority of PFAS NTA studies have applied this technology in water or soil matrices. NTA in biota is complicated by the presence of endogenous chemicals that may interfere with identification of environmental contaminants like PFAS. NTA workflows in biota need to be further developed, tested, and applied in order to be widely adopted and used in decision making.

The goal of the research project is to apply PFAS NTA techniques in biological samples of interest to state and regional partners to identify chemicals of interest and produce data processing workflows optimized for PFAS NTA in biota. 

Learning Objectives: Under the guidance of a mentor, the research activities will include, but not limited to:

• Exploring the usefulness of sample preparation and clean-up on PFAS identification in biological samples.
• Exploring and mastering software workflows used for PFAS NTA (e.g., Compound Discoverer, FluoroMatch, patRoon, etc.).
• Writing QA/QC procedures and documents and writing programming code (R or other) for processing data output.

Applications of derived workflows will include identification of novel PFAS in biological samples originating near manufacturing facilities and from ambient offshore marine environments to test applicability of workflows across a range of exposure scenarios. 

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Anna Robuck (robuck.anna@epa.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor.

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: September 3, 2024.  All start dates are flexible and vary depending on numerous factors. Click here for detailed information about start dates.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year and may be renewed upon EPA recommendation and subject to availability of funding.

Level of Participation: This appointment is full-time.

Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. Click here for detailed information about full-time stipends.

EPA Security Clearance: Completion of a successful background investigation by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is required for an applicant to be on-boarded at EPA.

EPA Office/Lab and Location: A research training opportunity is available at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling (CEMM), Atlantic Coastal Environmental Sciences Division (ACESD) located in Narragansett, Rhode Island.

ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and EPA. Participants do not become employees of EPA, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

ORISE offers all ORISE EPA graduate students and Postdocs a free 5 year membership to the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA).

The successful applicant(s) will be required to comply with Environmental, Safety and Health (ES&H) requirements of the hosting facility, including but not limited to, COVID-19 requirements (e.g. facial covering, physical distancing, testing, vaccination).

Questions: Please see the FAQ section of our website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email EPArpp@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

See the application page for Qualifications and Application information.