U.S. FDA - Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition -
Mathematical Statistician/Bioinformatics
This is a specialized Mathematical Statistician GS-1529-13/14 position
within the field of bioinformatics and analysis of microarray data.
This position is being advertised under Direct Hire authority. Direct
Hire positions are filled using streamlined hiring procedures and may
include attractive recruitment incentives as described below. This
position is located in the Biostatistics Branch in the Center for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) at the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration in College Park, Maryland.
Mathematical Statisticians at FDA design and analyze complex biological
experiments directed toward the determination of chronic, reproductive,
and multi-generation effects of food additives and constituents on human
and/or design and evaluate various short-term exposure studies and their
protocols to assess the need for long-term exposure studies on relevant
chemicals. Mathematical Statisticians, in a non-laboratory setting,
perform such duties as review and evaluation of scientific data and
mathematical and statistical methods. They apply the principles and
techniques of mathematical statistics including probability, estimation,
hypothesis testing, experimental design, sampling, and other areas of
variety of problems in clinical research.
CFSAN has one of the agency's biggest jobs: it is responsible for the
safety of 80 percent of all food consumed in the United States. Each
day, about $240 billion worth of this cornucopia comes from America's
orchards, farms, lakes, and oceans, and passes through 50,000 food
manufacturers, processors and warehouses. In addition, $15 billion worth
of seafood, fresh produce and other foods are imported from every part
of the globe.
This position is a GS-1529 (Mathematical Statistician) position at Grade
13 or 14. The salary range is $82,961 - $127,442. Excellent computer
skills are essential, and knowledge of SAS is desirable, but no specific
expertise is required for particular languages or software packages.
The incumbent's responsibilities in this area include, but are not
limited to, the following:
* Support and collaborate with CFSAN's microarray and bioinformatics
researchers in finding molecular and other biomarkers.
* Research areas include detection, differentiation, and sub-typing of
food borne pathogens, rapid analysis of foods for contaminants,
allergens, and toxins, and fish species identification. Provide
statistical expertise to researchers who are conducting experiments
using microarray gene expression, microarray genotyping, Multi Locus
VNTR analysis (MLVA), Multi Locus sequence typing (MLST), single
nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), Biolog growth curves, optical mapping,
pulsed field gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and multiplexed
sensor-based approaches such as surface Plasmon resonance, infrared
microscopy, optical waveguides, and bead-based multiplexed luminescent
assays.
* Conduct multivariate statistical analyses using principal components
analysis, cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, and multidimensional
growth curve analysis.
* Conduct extensive exploratory analyses of public and in-house
gene-sequence databases and determine statistical criteria for reliable
and replicable sub-typing and differentiation.
* Develop data fusion methods for incorporating data from different
modalities and metrics into an integrated analysis.
* Train other Mathematical Statisticians to perform microarray and
bioinformatics analysis
Candidates selected from this announcement MAY be eligible to receive
one or more of the following recruitment incentives:
- A recruitment incentive of up to 10 percent of their pay. This for
non-federal applicants
only.
- A relocation incentive. This is for current Federal
employees/applicants only.
- Relocation expenses for non federal applicants for a move to a first
duty station. These
expenses must meet existing current federal travel regulations.
- Permanent change of station (PCS) expenses for current federal
employee applicants.
These expenses must existing current federal travel regulations.
- Reimbursement for existing student tuition loans of up to $10,000 in
first year of
employment. Student loans must meet requirements of current federal
student loan
repayment program guidelines.
- Candidate travel expenses to proposed duty station for interview and
site visit.
- Credit towards Annual Leave.
Key Requirements:
* US Citizenship
* Travel Required: Some
* This position has a minimum education requirement.
IN ADDITION TO THE BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS ABOVE, YOU MUST ALSO
MEET THE QUALIFICATIONS LISTED BELOW FOR EACH GRADE LEVEL YOU ARE
APPLYING FOR:
GS-13:
The basic requirements plus:
- You must have one (1) year of specialized experience that has
equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to
perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically
in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be
creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least
the GS-12 grade level in the Federal Government.
GS-14:
The basic requirements plus:
- You must have one (1) year of specialized experience that has
equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to
perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically
in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be
creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least
the GS-13 grade level in the Federal Government.
Basic Requirements for GS-1529 series:
A. Degree: that included 24 semester hours of mathematics and
statistics, of which at least 12 semester hours were in mathematics and
6 semester hours were in statistics.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience--at least 24 semester hours
of mathematics and statistics, including at least 12 hours in
mathematics and 6 hours in statistics, as shown in A above, plus
appropriate experience or additional education.
The quality of the combination of education and experience must have
been sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the
knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform work in the
occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the
successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major
study in the appropriate field.
Probationary Period: A one-year probationary period is required for new
employees and/or newly appointed supervisors. In some cases, a current
or former Federal employee may be required to serve a new one-year
probationary period.
The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the
basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political
affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age,
membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factor.
Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants
with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable
accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should
contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for
reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Applicants should send resume to: curtis.barton@fda.hhs.gov
For more information, call:
Curtis Barton, Ph.D.
Acting Chief, Biostatistics Branch
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
5100 Paint Branch Parkway
College Park, MD 20740
(301)436-1840