The APHL-CDC Antimicrobial Resistance (AR) Laboratory Fellowship Program (AR Lab Fellowship) provides scientists with the opportunity to collaborate on a range of antimicrobial resistance issues. The fellowship's mission is to introduce scientists to public health laboratory science while building the workforce needed to detect and respond to existing and emerging forms of AR.

The AR Lab Fellowship is a full-time working fellowship program for master's- and doctoral-degree level scientists. Fellows will be placed in one of seven public health laboratories for a 12-month term. Extensions for an additional 12-month term may be granted to doctoral fellows, provided funding is available. In addition to laboratory-specific work, fellows will participate in distance-based training and learning activities to achieve proficiency in select public health laboratory core competencies.

AR Lab Fellows are selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants. Learn more about the current fellows and their projects and watch a short video about the fellowship experience.

AR Lab Fellowship Tracks



There are two fellowship tracks. The Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network Track is offered each year. The Drug-resistant Tuberculosis (TB) Track is available every other year; recruitment for this track will begin in Fall 2020 for a start date in Summer 2021.



Fellows selected for the AR Lab Network Track and the Drug-resistant TB Track are required to participate in an orientation session at CDC during the summer they begin their fellowships.​



Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network Track

In 2016 CDC established the AR Laboratory Network, which supports nationwide lab capacity to rapidly detect antimicrobial resistance and inform local responses to prevent spread of resistant infections. The AR Lab Network includes laboratories in 50 states, four large cities and Puerto Rico. Seven of these laboratories are designated as regional laboratories. These labs provide additional testing for a variety of AR pathogens and complement the laboratory capacity in every state, four cities and Puerto Rico. Fellows selected can be placed at one of the seven AR Lab Network regional laboratories or on CDC's main campus:

