Become a PHEFA Intern or Fellow

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A PHEFA fellow and an intern looking at mosquitoes by using a dissecting microscope.

Learn more about the types of activities interns and fellows participate in during their time with the Division of Vector-Borne Diseases.

Internship Activities

  • Learning about mosquito and tick taxonomy by handling specimens, identifying common species, and using scientific keys
  • Learning and refining laboratory skills ​
  • Networking with entomology professionals at universities and local vector control organizations​
  • Rearing mosquitoes
  • Setting up and taking down mosquito traps ​
  • Conducting insecticide resistance testing in mosquitoes and calibrating new insecticides
  • Evaluating different methods of generating carbon dioxide in order to identify a promising alternative to using dry ice in tick traps​
  • Testing samples from white-tailed deer for evidence of rickettsial pathogens
  • Collecting ticks in local parks​

Fellowship Activities

  • Testing state-submitted Ixodes species ticks as part of the National Tick Surveillance Program
  • Leading an investigation on the diversity of Borrelia species ticks ​
  • Studying Aedes aegypti insecticide resistance in the U.S. Virgin Islands
  • Conducting field work and studying mosquito activity ​

Important Dates for Applicants

PHEFA interns and fellows collecting ticks in the field.
  • December 15, 2023: Application opens
  • February 15, 2023: Application closes
  • March – April 2024: Interviews held; offers made

For more information about benefits, eligibility, and application process, please visit ESA’s PHEFA website.