Link to Event Website is here. Application Closes: March 31, 2025.

Applied learning fellowships

The Center for Disaster Resilient Communities offers training in environmental and public health disaster research methods and skills for up to 25 advanced graduate students and early career hazards and disaster researchers a year from across the United States. The goal of this program, Investigations in Disasters and Emergencies: Advancing Applied Learning in Disaster Research Response (IDEAAL DR2), is to increase the knowledge and awareness of environmental and public health disaster research methods and skills among interdisciplinary, early career researchers who are interested in conducting public health-focused hazards and disaster research. The CDRC is partnering with the The William Averette Anderson Fund for Hazard and Disaster Mitigation Education and Research, also known as the Bill Anderson Fund (BAF) to design and administer this program.

The program’s fellowship consists of prerequisite readings and online training, an in-person, highly interactive weeklong intensive set of five modules and an applied research experience. The weeklong in-person component of this research-training program is held at the University of Washington campus in Seattle. During this in-person portion, participants will receive hands-on training in public and environmental health disaster research methods and skills. This year, the short course will be held from August 4 to 8, 2025. After completion of this in-person component of the course, participants will return to their home institutions to complete their research projects. Monthly workshops will be held to further expand on hazards and disasters research methods and topics.

The time commitment for this program includes online pre-course training not to exceed 20 hours over the course of two months and a week of in-person instruction at the University of Washington campus in Seattle. Activities after the short course include monthly training workshops and peer learning group meetings in the year following the in-person week to support development of participants’ individual research projects.

Learning Objectives

The learning objectives covered by the in-person training are as follows:

1. Foundations of disaster research

• Explain the role and importance of conducting research in the context of disasters and public health emergencies.
• Describe administrative and logistical roadblocks to the conduct of public environmental health research in the context of a disaster.
• Explain key ethical considerations when designing and implementing research in the context of a disaster.
• Design strategies to minimize health and safety risks while conducting research in the context of a disaster.

2. Reciprocity and research communications

• Demonstrate the ability to promote fair treatment and meaningful involvement of affected communities in efforts to address and investigate issues that exacerbate their disaster risk.
• Identify strategies for development of hazards and disaster research before, during and after a disaster with response partners and affected groups of people.
• Apply principles of risk and science communication to communicate with response partners before, during and after a public health emergency.
• Explain key components of public health emergency response, including emergency plans, key stakeholders and the incident command system (ICS).

3. Disaster research methods

• Explain applications of implementation science, exposure science, epidemiology, and data science in disasters, as well as key considerations to using these approaches in a disaster context.
• Compare and contrast different scientific approaches to conducting environmental and public health research in the context of a disaster.
• Generate research questions that apply environmental and public health scientific approaches.

4. Tools and instrumentation for disaster research

• Identify and select appropriate methods and tools to collect perishable data in the context of a disaster.
• Describe approaches and support to safely, securely and rapidly curate, manage and share perishable data collected to answer environmental and public health disaster research questions.

5. Disaster research design and implementation

• Identify funding sources and develop competitive grants applications to support disaster research response.
• Design and implement an environmental and public health disaster research project that results in a paper of publishable quality.

Who Should Attend / Scholar Eligibility

Early career researchers, including but not limited to assistant professors, research scientists, postdoctoral scholars, advanced graduate students and others in equivalent roles in non-university settings who are interested in performing environmental and public health disaster research are eligible and encouraged to apply.

Practitioners at government agencies will be considered on a case-by-case basis if they have the capacity and organizational support at their workplace to conduct their own research studies or partner with research teams at academic institutions.

This program is designed for researchers based in the United States. International applicants will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Compensation and Financial Support

Need-based travel stipends are available for travel to Seattle for the week of in-person training.

Timeline

• Application opens: February 28, 2025
• Application review: March 31, 2025 (9 p.m. Pacific)
• Applicants notified: Applications received by the priority application deadline will be notified by no later than April 30, 2025.

Application Instructions

To apply, please complete the online application form. The application includes four short answer questions that range from 200-350 words and a place to upload your current resume or CV. There is also a set of optional demographic questions. This information will be used to evaluate our outreach and recruitment processes and will not be used to assess your application nor will they be shared with those evaluating your application.

A version of the application questions is available to download. We recommend that applicants draft their short answer questions in a separate document as the REDCap may not reliably spell check or track word count.

Review Criteria

Applications will be reviewed by at least two members of the IDEAAL DR2 program team.

Applicants will be selected based on the following criteria:

• Research Training: Demonstrated training or experience in research related to the health impacts of disasters or public health emergencies.
• Foundational Knowledge: Demonstrated public health foundational knowledge, including through prior coursework, training, research or applied practice experience(s). *This includes mental health and other broad health implications.
• Impact of Training – Research Interests: Has identified a research question or interest related to public health disasters (type of disaster, health impact, etc.).
• Impact of Training – Ethical Research: Demonstrated commitment to and/or ability to execute ethical and transparent research.
• Impact of Training – Reciprocity: Demonstrated commitment to reciprocal research practices.
• Partner outreach and science communication: Demonstrated interest, training and/or experience with partner and/or community engagement and outreach, or science communications.

Questions

Questions regarding the program, application process and/or eligibility can be directed to Juliette Randazza via email at jrandazz@uw.edu. Questions regarding the BAF IDEAAL fellow eligibility and programming can be directed to Nnenia Campbell via email at nnenia@billandersonfund.org.