Epidemiologist

Title: Epidemiologist
Shift: M-F, 8A - 4:30P
Duration: 1 years with possible extension (06/15/2026 - 06/30/2027)
location: Nashville, Tennessee 37243
Note: This posting is for TN residents only with a requirement to attend in-person staff meetings at least once monthly. Business Location: Andrew Johnson Tower, 710 James Robertson Parkway, Nashville, TN 37243.


This position is in the Office of Informatics & Analytics (OIA) within the Tennessee Department of Health. The primary responsibility of the Epidemiologist will be to advance data analytics information for a range of audiences. This individual will primarily work to expand our capabilities supporting the Controlled Substance and Monitoring Database (CSMD), Tennessees Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) data. We are seeking a skilled and analytical professional to join our public health surveillance and prevention team as an Epidemiologist focused on prescription data. The epidemiologist will collect, manage, and analyze data related to prescription drug use, misuse, and overdose to support evidence-based public health responses. The role includes producing actionable insights from the Controlled Substance and Monitoring Database (CSMD) Tennessees prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP). Utilizing CSMD data, Hospital Discharge data, and Vital Statistics data for data linkage.

Duties may include:

• Support evaluations of overdose prevention and interventions such as prescribing limits, naloxone distribution, and provider education programs.
• Create provider education materials in support of prevention activities
• Produce a report specific to buprenorphine and create visualization products for dissemination.
• Collaborate with public health officials, program staff, and external partners to develop actionable insights.
• Perform statistical analysis to identify trends, hotspots, and risk factors for drug overdose.
• Create dashboards and reports for internal and external stakeholders.
• Work with epidemiologists, program managers, and healthcare providers to inform prevention and intervention efforts.
• Ensure data quality, security, and confidentiality in line with HIPAA, applicable data governance policies and other regulations.
• Contribute to grant applications, research studies, and presentations as needed.

Required:

• Masters degree in public health, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Data Science, or related field.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in public health and analytics.
• Proficiency in analytical and visualization tools (e.g., R, SAS, Stata, Python, and Tableau).
• Strong SQL skills and familiarity with relational databases.
• Experience linking different datasets.
• Ability to communicate complex data findings to non-technical audiences.
• Knowledge of public health data sources and overdose surveillance systems.