At a glance
The EIS Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a two-year, post-graduate training program in applied epidemiology. EIS Officers who select NIOSH for their assignment will also gain unique expertise in the discipline of occupational safety and health.
EIS Officers at NIOSH
NIOSH is the sole federal research agency focused on the study of worker safety and health. There are more than 1,300 employees from a diverse set of fields. These fields include epidemiology, medicine, industrial hygiene, psychology, chemistry, economics, and engineering.
NIOSH has over 40 EIS-trained researchers. Many currently serve in supervisory and leadership positions throughout the Institute.
NIOSH EIS Officers work on emerging issues in disease and injury prevention and health promotion in workplaces. At the same time, they also take part in all EIS activities. These include CDC-wide emergency investigations of non-occupational disease and injury outbreaks throughout the world.
Placements for NIOSH EISOs are available in the following divisions:
EIS Experience at NIOSH
EIS Officers at NIOSH work on emerging issues in disease and injury prevention and health promotion in workplaces. EIS Officers gain experience:
- Designing and conducting evaluations at worksites across the country
- Analyzing large datasets from surveillance or worker populations
- Identifying industries, occupations, and exposures with increased risk
- Applying principles of industrial hygiene and ergonomics
- Conducting public health surveillance
- Writing, publishing, and presenting scientific information
Previous NIOSH EIS Projects
We encourage NIOSH EIS Officers to develop or participate in projects that suit their interests.
Previous NIOSH EIS Officers have investigated or evaluated:
- Respiratory hazards among workers at a rubber manufacturing facility.
- Opioid exposures in first responders and laboratory workers.
- Lead exposures in a bullet manufacturing plant
- An occupational outbreak of Legionnaires' disease
- Lung disease in coffee processing workers
- Employees' exposure to tuberculosis from elephants at a zoo
- An epidemic of Black Lung among coal miners in Appalachia.
EIS Officers have also analyzed data from surveillance systems and studies to:
- Drive revised federal standards to protect farmworkers from pesticides
- Explore how parents' work is linked to childhood health outcomes
EIS Officers have also worked with partners to develop a new blood lead reference level for adults (5 μg/dL) to better protect workers from health effects that can occur at blood lead levels once considered safe.
The NIOSH Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Brochure
Contact
Interested in joining us? To learn more about the EIS program and the application process, visit the CDC EIS webpage. Contact us for more information about EIS placements at NIOSH.