EPIDEMIOLOGY INTERN, CHRONIC DISEASE (SPRING SEMESTER)

Job Role Summary

The Epidemiology Department at the Marion County Public Health Department is responsible for providing epidemiologic support for our internal and external partners. The department uses internal data (i.e. birth and death records), data obtained externally from contractual agreements (i.e.  a hospital discharge dataset) and data available to the public via the internet (i.e. CDC Wonder website). Interns provide support during the Spring Semester of 2025 from (January to May 2025)to the department by assisting staff in completing tasks that are necessary to fill data requests and compile reports. These are mainly centered around measuring the extent of disease and factors related to their development or prevention in Marion County, IN. In doing so, interns gain experience in data management, data analyses, and writing for professional and lay audiences. In addition, they are offered the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues who have various education levels and professional expertise.  

Associated Job Duties

• Performing tasks required to complete the Community Health Assessment, currently underway. This includes researching and writing sections of the final report and preparing presentations. 
• Designing, conducting, and interpreting statistical analyses related to the CHA and other surveillance activities as the arise. 
• Collaborating with MCPHD staff and other organizations to ensure the success of programs and projects.
• Creating and supporting other projects that make epidemiological and other data-based information available.
• Prioritizing projects and tasks to best address the department’s needs and fulfill the agency’s mission.
• Provide data for chronic disease areas to support local public health programs and other duties as they arise.
• Provide epidemiological support to other areas of the Epidemiology Department as needed. 

Essential Duties

• Support the Chronic Disease Epidemiologist in the following activities:
• Conduct health surveillance for Marion County as needed.
• Maintain the data providers’ engagement by assuring that their participation in public health surveillance provides them value. 
• Meet with program staff to understand their information needs, and develop solutions to address those needs.
• Prepare and deliver reports and presentations on health issues and statistics for professional and lay audiences.
• Evaluate and improve the quality of the data received and improve our understanding and interpretation of the data. 
• Participate in public health emergency preparedness exercises and in the response to public health emergencies, as directed. 
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in a graduate program (preferred 1 year of program completed) focusing on Public Health or related discipline.  Concentration in Epidemiology preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Experience analyzing health data used for public health surveillance. 
• Demonstrated basic set of programming (SAS and/or R) skills. 
• Experience with computerized data analysis and data management.
• Data Analytics
• Data Visualization
• SAS Coding (including SAS Enterprise Guide)
• RStudio Coding (including RMarkdown and Quarto)

Working Environment

• Candidate must be currently able to legally work in the United States
• Position requires steady use of hands or fingers: 90%
• The job will be hybrid remote. Onboarding is in-person with the Human Resources Department at the Marion County Public Health Department in Indianapolis, Indiana. Additional hours required for the internship can be completed with a combination of working in-person and/or online. For in-person days, the intern will be located within the Johnson Building with the Epidemiology Department (located on both the 1st and 2nd floor). Remote working expectations will be included in onboarding.
• Equipment to perform job duties includes department allocated laptop (including charger) and required badge to access the Johnson building. Additional equipment will be provided as needed.