Epidemiologists

Epidemiologists typically perform the following tasks: • Communicate research findings on various types of diseases to health practitioners, policy makers, and the public. • Oversee public health programs, including statistical analysis, health care planning, surveillance systems, and public health improvement. • Investigate diseases or parasites to determine cause and risk factors, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission. • Educate healthcare workers, patients, and the public about infectious and communicable diseases, including disease transmission and prevention. • Monitor and report incidents of infectious diseases to local and state health agencies. • Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease. • Provide expertise in the design, management and evaluation of study protocols and health status questionnaires, sample selection, and analysis. • Write articles for publication in professional journals. • Identify and analyze public health issues related to foodborne parasitic diseases and their impact on public policies, scientific studies, or surveys. • Write grant applications to fund epidemiologic research. • Plan, administer and evaluate health safety standards and programs to improve public health, conferring with health department, industry personnel, physicians, and others. • Conduct research to develop methodologies, instrumentation, and procedures for medical application, analyzing data and presenting findings. • Consult with and advise physicians, educators, researchers, government health officials and others regarding medical applications of sciences, such as physics, biology, and chemistry. • Supervise professional, technical, and clerical personnel. • Teach principles of medicine and medical and laboratory procedures to physicians, residents, students, and technicians. • Prepare and analyze samples to study effects of drugs, gases, pesticides, or microorganisms on cell structure and tissue. • Teach epidemiology to students in public health programs.