Research Project Description

High Throughput Modeling of Indoor Exposure to Chemicals
Research Participation Program
Office of Research and Development
National Center for Computational Toxicology
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park, NC

EPA-ORD/NCCT-2012-18

Project Description:

A postdoctoral research project training opportunity is currently available at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Center for Computational Toxicology (NCCT) in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

The National Center for Computational Toxicology (NCCT) is responsible for developing computational tools and solutions for improving environmental risk assessments and regulatory decisions pertaining to chemical safety and sustainability. The objective of the ExpoCast research project is to develop computational tools and high throughput data to allow rapid prediction of chemical exposure that can be compared against doses associated with potential hazard identified by ToxCast high throughput in vitro toxicity assays.

The research participant could be involved in the following team activities:

• Modify, analyze, and design models allowing high throughput prediction of human exposure from sources (e.g. flooring) in the indoor environment.
• Develop models for predicting the properties of specific chemical formulations (e.g. emissivity).
• Design novel experiments to refine model predictions.
• Review evidence from the literature and NCCT databases to develop hypotheses and identify datasets for evaluating and revising models.
• Manage large data sets consisting of physicochemical and biological properties of hundreds to thousands of environmental chemicals.

The participant will be trained to conduct hypothesis-driven research using computational tools and mathematical models to simulate exposure of humans to environmental chemicals. 

The research participant will become a member of a team of scientists developing, testing, documenting and deploying solutions for the Chemical Safety for Sustainability (CSS) program. The participant will have latitude in exercising independent initiative and judgment in the research commensurate with the level of training. The participant will have the opportunity to communicate his/her research via internal and/or public presentations and manuscripts. 

This research will enhance the ability to anticipate potentially hazardous chemicals and exposure scenarios that otherwise might go undetected. The participant will focus on predicting near-field, indirect exposure, which depends upon both chemical properties and the product formulation (i.e. how the chemical is used). This will require mathematical modeling and the design and supervision of new high throughput experiments.

Qualifications:

Applicants must have received a doctoral degree in chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, or biomedical engineering within five years of the desired starting date, or completion of all requirements for the degree should be expected prior to the starting date. Experience in chemical exposure-modeling areas including chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, chemistry, physics, and/or pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics; computational areas such as quantitative structure-activity relationships, dynamical modeling, and/or multi-scale modeling; and scientific software development in languages including R, Java, Perl, Python, C, and/or MATLAB is desired.

The program is open to all qualified individuals without regard to race, sex, religion, age, physical or mental disability, national origin, or status as a Vietnam era or disabled veteran. U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent resident status is preferred (but can also hold an appropriate visa status, however, an H1B visa is not appropriate).

The appointment is full-time for one year and may be renewed for up to two additional years upon recommendation of EPA and subject to availability of funds. The participant will receive a monthly stipend. The participant must show proof of health and medical insurance. The participant does not become an EPA employee.  

Funding may be made available to reimburse a research participant's travel expenses to present the results of his/her research at scientific conferences. No funding will be made available to cover travel costs for pre-appointment visits, relocation costs, tuition or fees, or a participant's health insurance.

Technical Questions:

Dr. John Wambaugh is the mentor for this project.  He can be contacted at wambaugh.john@epa.gov.

How to Apply:

The Research Participation Program for EPA is administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. Please reference Project # EPA-ORD/NCCT-2012-18 when calling or writing for information. For additional information and application materials contact: Research Participation Program/EPA-ORD, Attn: Betty Bowling, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, P.O. Box 117, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-0117, Phone: (865) 576-8503 FAX: (865) 241-5219 e-mail: betty.bowling@orau.org. 

An application can be found at www.orau.gov/orise/edu/EPA/app-gugrgpd.pdf.