APHL is always seeking host laboratories and mentors to host and support the Public Health Laboratory Science Fellowship and Internship Programs! Fellows and interns are matched with experienced mentors in host laboratories across the United States.

Mentors from APHL member or non-member laboratories are encouraged to apply as long as the mission of their laboratory supports public health initiatives.  

If you are an experienced laboratory professional who would like to guide and direct a fellow or an intern through their journey in the Career Pathways program, we would encourage you to apply. Your contributions can help shape the next generations of public health laboratory professionals. Learn more.

Mentor applicants can choose from mentoring fellows, interns or genomic data interns. The main difference between mentoring fellows, interns or genomic data interns is the length of each program. Mentoring fellows and genomic data interns is a year-long commitment, whereas mentoring an intern is a 12-16-week commitment.

Otherwise, the criteria for hosting fellows or interns are the same.

• Have supervisor or laboratory director approval
• Be able to host a fellow(s) or genomic data intern for at least 1 year or be able to host an intern for 12 to 16 weeks
• Conduct work that contributes to public health or one health initiatives  
• Have broad laboratory capabilities to ensure fellows and/or interns are familiar with relevant techniques in a given specialty 
• Demonstrate ability to provide training and/or research opportunities 
• Provide a specific project with defined objectives and timelines   
• Describe how hosting the fellow or intern will integrate with and advance programmatic activities 
• Designate a mentor who will inform, instruct and coach the fellow or intern; mentors will outline the objectives of the fellow's or intern’s  assigned project(s) and provide guidance for the duration of the program 

• Have research and training experience complimentary to the intern or fellow's project 
• Be available and accessible for the duration of the program
  • One year for fellows and genomic data interns
  • 12 to 16 weeks for interns
• Meets regularly with the fellow or intern to review progress
• Review the fellow or intern's performance and goals based on project’s objectives agreed upon in the Plan of Action
• Provide enthusiastic support to the fellow or intern and productive feedback that provides specific, actionable suggestions to project work  
• Provide reports to APHL on the fellow or intern's performance in the laboratory and their progress with the designated project
• Intern mentors must submit monthly reports confirming the intern's hours
• Fellow mentors must submit quarterly reports confirming the fellow's progress
• Intern mentors must attend a mentor orientation
• Fellow mentors must review the mentor orientation slideshow

1. Access the APHL Learning Center and click 'Sign In' in the top right corner
2. You will be prompted to sign in to the APHL Learning Center
   • If you do not have an APHL account, please FIRST create an account
   • If you have an APHL account, please sign in
3. Once signed in, enter Fellowship Mentor Applications in the search bar
4. Select the webinar then click the 'Enroll' button in the top right corner to begin the enrollment process
5. Once you have 'Enrolled', you will click the 'Start Learning Now' button in the top right corner to view the webinar"
6. You can also view our mentor application flyer for a general overview.

Fellow mentors gain access to the Candidate Pool upon application approval. Candidates in the Pool are required to complete several supplemental questions. Once they have completed and submitted their answers, they will appear in the Pool. 

If you are searching for a specific fellow but don't know their ID number, please contact [email protected] for assistance.