Epidemiologist / Data Scientist (Remote)

SUMMARY

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Division of Communicable Disease Control (DCDC) and Heluna Health are recruiting for an Epidemiologist / Data Scientist for the CDPH Wastewater Surveillance Program.

This position is supported by the U.S.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) cooperative agreement.

The CDPH Wastewater Surveillance Program is a national Center of Excellence and a part of the CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS).

Wastewater, or sewage, can be tested for RNA from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, along with other infectious disease pathogens, such as Mpox and influenza.

Wastewater data are used to augment existing public health surveillance and to help monitor infectious disease trends and outbreaks.

This position will serve as an epidemiologist / data scientist on the CDPH wastewater surveillance team and is responsible for reporting, analysis, visualization, and interpretation of wastewater data as a complementary epidemiological surveillance tool to inform public health response.

Responsibilities of this position include data analysis, development of metrics and indicators, and epidemiologic interpretation of data generated by an evolving statewide wastewater surveillance system in collaboration with multidisciplinary CDPH teams, the CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS), California wastewater utilities, public health and non-public health testing laboratories, local health departments, and other partners (e.g., academia, state partners) as appropriate.

Wastewater data will be analyzed alongside epidemiologic data and environmental and laboratory parameters, for public health reporting, use, and response.

Required data analysis, reporting, and visualization activities include using statistical software to compare multiple existing surveillance data sources with wastewater data.

Analyses are varied and may include multivariable regression models and spatial analyses to better understand trends and burden of disease and time series analyses to identify and interpret trends.

The Epidemiologist / Data Scientist will analyze wastewater concentration data for various pathogens.

These pathogens can include those already being monitored in wastewater (e.g., SARS-CoV-2, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus [RSV], Mpox, norovirus, Candida auris) as well as pathogens being piloted for potential routine public health monitoring in wastewater (e.g., West Nile Virus, Dengue).

The Epidemiologist / Data Scientist will work with CDPH epidemiologists, subject matter experts, and local health departments to understand existing public health surveillance systems, needs for wastewater surveillance, and develop methods to effectively integrate wastewater monitoring for different pathogens into existing public health infrastructure.

This position will also coordinate with other CDPH teams to use wastewater surveillance to supp...