Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS)

The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a two-year, paid, post-graduate training program in applied, public health epidemiology. Health professionals who select NIOSH for their EIS assignment will not only be trained in public health epidemiology, but will also gain unique expertise in the discipline of occupational safety and health.

What do EIS Officers do at NIOSH?

NIOSH EIS Officers work on emerging issues in occupational public health disease prevention and health promotion in workplaces.

Examples of recent investigations conducted by NIOSH EIS Officers include:

• tuberculosis among health care personnel and immigration workers;
• pandemic influenza among physicians in training;
• campylobacter infection among production line employees at a poultry processing plant;
• carpal tunnel syndrome and traumatic injury risk factors among poultry processing employees working on production lines;
• respiratory diseases associated with exposure to flavoring chemicals and metals;
• reproductive outcomes among flight attendants;
• pesticide exposure in the herbicide formulation industry; and
• pneumoconiosis and advanced occupational lung disease among surface coal miners.

Through the field collection and subsequent analysis of data from workers with occupational injury and disease, NIOSH EIS Officers can become familiar with:

• the design of epidemiologic investigations;
• analysis of large, population-based surveillance data sets to identify jobs with increased disease risk;
• the principles of industrial safety, hygiene, and ergonomics;
• the practice of public health surveillance;
• scientific writing and presentation of peer-reviewed manuscripts; and
• emergency preparedness and response to natural or intentional, national and international disaster emergencies.

The EIS Officers' individual experiences are supplemented through short courses in occupational health, weekly seminars, and informal tutorials.

What assignments are available at NIOSH?

EIS Officers interested in a NIOSH experience may choose among assignments in Anchorage, AK, Morgantown, WV, Cincinnati, OH, and Atlanta, GA. EIS Officers in Morgantown commonly develop professional contacts and gain clinical experience participating as adjunct faculty in occupational medicine, pulmonary medicine, or community medicine activities at the West Virginia University School of Medicine and its new School of Public Health adjacent to the NIOSH facility. EIS Officers in Cincinnati have developed professional relationships with the staff at the University of Cincinnati Department of Environmental Health of the College of Medicine and other departments.

The Relationship of the NIOSH EIS program to the EIS program at CDC

EIS Officers assigned to NIOSH are a part of the CDC's EIS Program and participate fully in all EIS activities, including the annual EIS Conference held in Atlanta each spring. As EIS Officers, NIOSH assignees may be asked to participate in emergency investigations of non-occupational disease outbreaks in the United States and throughout the world. All EIS Officers begin their fellowship by attending a three-week introductory course in epidemiology and statistics held in Atlanta during July.

What Are the Eligibility Criterion?

Health professionals who meet one of the following qualifications, and have a strong interest in applied public health epidemiology, are eligible and encouraged to apply to the CDC EIS Program:

1. Physicians (MD, DO, MBBS, etc.) with at least one year of clinical training. U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents must have an active, unrestricted, U.S. license to practice their clinical specialty;
2. Doctoral-level Scientists (PhD, DrPH, ScD, etc.) in health-related fields such as epidemiology, biostatistics, biology, environmental, social, behavioral, and nutritional sciences, etc.;
3. Medical Professionals (DDS, BSN, PA, PharmD) with a Master of Public Health (MPH) or equivalent degree; and
4. Veterinarians (DVM, VMD, etc.) with a Master of Public Health (MPH) or equivalent degree.

Application Deadline

The deadline for submitting online applications is June 30, 2017 for EIS Officers entering the class beginning July 1 of the following year.

For further information contact either of the following offices:

Sally E. Brown, MPH, BSN, EIS 1997
Nurse Epidemiologist
Office of the Director
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Denver Federal Center
6th and Kipling
Building 25
Denver, CO 80225
Phone: (303) 236-5950
Email: SBrown@cdc.gov

EIS Program
Office of Workforce and Career Development
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road, N.E.
MS E-92
Atlanta, GA 30333
Phone: (404) 498-6110
or toll free 1-888-496-8347
E-mail: eisepo@cdc.gov