Epidemiologist

UK Health Security Agency; Greater London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

UK Health Security Agency (GIFSOH Division) in London conducts surveillance and epidemiology of gastrointestinal infections and food safety within the EEI Directorate. The postholder will design and develop GI pathogen surveillance systems, perform complex analyses, and contribute to national investigations and research projects.

Work involves collaboration with epidemiologists and IT/bioinformatics specialists to enable data-driven public health decisions and outbreak management.

Responsibilities

• Develop, manage and maintain GI pathogen surveillance systems and outputs, including sequencing data integration.
• Develop automated analytical solutions and contribute to public health scientific reports and peer reviewed publications.
• Undertake routine analysis of national surveillance data to support GIFSOH and national outbreak response.

Skills

Epidemiology

Data analysis

Biostatistics

WGS data analysis

Team collaboration

Education

Master's degree in Epidemiology or Public Health

Tools

R

Python

SQL

Bioinformatics tools

Job description

The Gastrointestinal Infections, Food Safety & One Health Division (GIFSOH) is located within UKHSA's Epidemic and Emerging Infections Directorate (EEI) at Colindale. The Divisional remit includes providing specialist epidemiology and surveillance for a broad range of gastrointestinal pathogens including enteric and foodborne bacteria, viruses and parasites, coordinating national outbreak investigations, advising government on the risks posed by various gastrointestinal (GI) pathogens and responding to national and international health concerns. The Division uses advanced techniques such as whole genome sequencing (WGS) to track outbreaks and monitor antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and also plays an important role in Food Safety and One Health both within the UK and internationally. The postholder will work on the surveillance, epidemiology and investigation of gastrointestinal infections by providing specialist scientific support for a range of national surveillance programmes, outbreak investigations and research projects. This will include the design and development of new surveillance and data management systems in response to developments in microbiological typing methods in collaboration with other epidemiologists and IT/bioinformatics specialists and will be required to conduct complex statistical analyses to produce GI pathogen surveillance, outbreak investigation and risk assessment outputs.

• Develop, manage and maintain gastrointestinal pathogen surveillance systems (including surveillance databases) and produce comprehensive surveillance data outputs for both internal and external stakeholders, incorporating whole genome sequencing and epidemiological data.
• Develop automated analytical solutions, respond to complex or sensitive data requests, and contribute to public health scientific reports and peer reviewed publications.
• Undertake and coordinate routine analysis of national surveillance data to support the wider GIFSOH team, such as the detection, investigation and management of national outbreaks of GI illness. We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.