Substance Use Epidemiologist - Epidemiologist Intermediate

About the role

The Substance Use Epidemiologist will design and conduct epidemiologic investigations and/or surveillance related to substance use/misuse, injury prevention/surveillance, or another closely related field. Key responsibilities include:

• Completing analyses of data from drug product testing, hospital data, and the Emergency Medical Services database.
• Working under the direction of the Substance Use Epidemiology unit supervisor, and collaborating with various teams including the drug overdose mortality team, drug overdose morbidity team, MNDOSA epidemiology team, Minnesota Public Health Lab, Substance Use Prevention Unit, Drug Overdose Prevention Unit, and other MDH staff as needed.
• Communicating with key working partners for substance use and related morbidity analyses, including community organizations, health care providers, emergency medical services, Poison Control, and the Minnesota Hospital Association.

Responsibilities

The Substance Use Epidemiologist will:

• Design and conduct epidemiologic investigations and/or surveillance related to substance use/misuse, injury prevention/surveillance, or another closely related field.
• Complete analyses of data from drug product testing, hospital data, and the Emergency Medical Services database.
• Collaborate with various teams including the drug overdose mortality team, drug overdose morbidity team, MNDOSA epidemiology team, Minnesota Public Health Lab, Substance Use Prevention Unit, Drug Overdose Prevention Unit, and other MDH staff as needed.
• Communicate with key working partners for substance use and related morbidity analyses, including community organizations, health care providers, emergency medical services, Poison Control, and the Minnesota Hospital Association.

Requirements

Minimum qualifications include:

• Three (3) years of related experience designing and conducting epidemiologic investigations and/or surveillance related to substance use/misuse, injury prevention/surveillance, or another closely related field.
• Experience using a statistical package such as SAS, STATA, or R.
• Experience using data visualization software such as Tableau or PowerBI.

Qualifications

Preferred qualifications include:

• Knowledge and understanding of key principles of health equity and Indigenous data sovereignty.
• Advanced skill and knowledge in statistics and computer statistical packages and data visualization software.
• Knowledge and understanding of key principles of overdose prevention.

Skills

The ideal candidate will possess:

• Knowledge and skill in injury surveillance system design and methodology.
• Ability to review, analyze, and interpret secondary data sets.
• Ability to identify and evaluate scientific literature, synthesize relevant information, and make recommendations.

Benefits

The Minnesota Department of Health offers a comprehensive benefits package including:

• Paid vacation and sick leave.
• 12 paid holidays each year.
• Low-cost medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug plans.
• Fertility care, including IVF.
• Dental and orthodontic care for adults and children.
• 6 weeks paid leave for parents of newborn or newly adopted children.
• Pension plan that provides income when you retire (after working at least three years).
• Employer paid life insurance to provide support for your family in the event of death.
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance that can provide income if you are unable to work due to illness or injury.
• Tax-free expense accounts for health, dental, and dependent care.