District 3-5 DeKalb Public Health
This fellowship posting is in District 3-5 Dekalb Public Health in Decatur, Georgia. The fellow selected for this position will be an employee of Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health for the duration of the fellowship but will spend their time working as a level 1 epidemiologist within the DeKalb District. The Fellow should expect to report fully in person, but may be able to work remotely for 2 days per week.
The Fellow can expect to engage in a variety of routine epidemiologic activities in this position including:
- Cross-training in notifiable diseases investigated by the Epidemiology team at DKPH. Primary day-to-day responsibilities including completion of mpox, malaria, varicella, campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, typhoid, and leprosy case investigations.
- Managing outbreak investigations involving long-term care facilities
- Participating in routine data analysis and data management
- Cross-training in notifiable diseases investigated by the Epidemiology team at DKPH
In addition to regular duties, the Fellow will need to complete an oral/poster presentation and at least two required analytic, evaluation, or quality improvement projects. Examples of projects in this district include:
- Health of DeKalb: The Health of DeKalb is a comprehensive report published regularly by the agency that provides information on county demographics and data on a wide variety of health topics affecting DeKalb County residents, in a format that is accessible to the general public. The fellow will contribute to this report by pulling and analyzing data, creating data visualizations, and working with other internal teams to produce a finished product. The most recent version of this report is available on the agency’s website. Competencies: Data analytics and assessment, communication, public health sciences Public health impact: This report provides a reference that is accessible and available to the general public on health matters impacting the county, including leading causes of death and hospitalization, infectious diseases, intentional and unintentional injuries, environmental health, and others.
- West Nile Virus case and mosquito testing geospatial analysis: Each year, DeKalb Public Health’s Environmental Health team conducts mosquito testing to identify locations within the county where West Nile Virus positive (WNV+) mosquitos are found. In most years, human West Nile Virus cases are also reported among DeKalb County residents. The fellow will perform a geospatial analysis of these two datasets to compare the locations of WNV+ mosquito pools and human cases over time. Competencies: Data analytics and assessment, public health sciences, communication Public health impact: This analysis will provide an additional piece of information for the agency’s Epidemiology and Environmental Health teams to tailor their public education and disease prevention efforts.
Preferred Fellow background and skills include:
- Demonstrated interest or experience in conducting public health surveillance and analyzing epidemiologic data at the local or state public health level
- Excellent communication skills, particularly with diverse members of the public (e.g., through customer service experience)
- Ability to translate complex data/concepts into everyday language is strongly preferred.
- Multilingual candidates are preferred, especially Spanish speakers.
Emory Rollins Epidemiology Fellowship
The Rollins Epidemiology Fellowship’s mission is to enhance Georgia’s state and local public health programs by training exceptional epidemiologists who passionately serve their communities through critical surveillance, outbreak response, and general public health practice.
