Career Pathways in Public Health Laboratory Science

The primary goal of the Career Pathways program is to increase the public health laboratory workforce through hands-on programs for students, support for early-career and experienced professionals and opportunities for networking and leadership development.

We provide internships, fellowships, leadership training and academic partnerships to support this goal.

The Public Health Laboratory Science Fellowship and Internship Program relies on funding provided under a Cooperative Agreement from CDC to APHL and all fellow and intern placements will be contingent upon continued availability of this funding.

We are seeking students who are interested in exploring a career in the laboratory sciences. Interns will join a public health laboratory team to make an impact on protecting the health of our communities. Interns assist scientists working on meaningful projects while building skills such as general lab practices (e.g., pipetting, calibrations, etc.), data analysis, report management, problem solving, teamwork, and effective communication.

Not only will interns practice transferable skills such as laboratory techniques, problem solving, teamwork, and effective communication, but they will also have the opportunity to network with laboratory professionals and be supervised by a qualified mentor for the duration of the project.

(October 1, 2026) APHL’s current funding agreement ends June 30, 2027 and we are actively seeking additional funding. This information is what we know as of October 1.  APHL will offer up to 20 new fellowships beginning July 1, 2027 for applicants with a master's degree or higher. These fellowships will focus on vector-borne diseases, bioinformatics and genomic epidemiology, antimicrobial resistance and tuberculosis. Applications for host laboratories will open in November for fellowships beginning July 1, 2027. Applications for fellows will open in January 2027.

 APHL will provide another funding update when we have more information or by December 16, whichever comes first. Please contact [email protected] should you have any questions.

APHL’s Leadership Programs develop laboratory professionals by strengthening their leadership skills and network.​

Partnerships are essential to advancing public health. Through partnerships, we aim to promote and support the recruitment and retention efforts for the public health laboratory workforce.​