State of Connecticut Executive Branch

In the Department of Public Health and the Office of Early Childhood, this class is accountable for performing the most complex tasks as a specialist investigating infectious, chronic and non-infectious diseases and implementing disease prevention methods.

• Department of Public Health, this class is considered to be the lead and/or advanced working level for the epidemiology series in all programs.
• This class is distinguished from Epidemiologists 2 by having more supervisory and/or planning responsibility and taking charge of complex problems in disease investigations, data analysis and disease control. This class is distinguished from Epidemiologist 4 primarily by not having full accountability for directing a managerially designated state program or project.
• In the Office of Early Childhood, this class serves as the lead over the Epidemiology program.  This position is responsible for all data collection, analysis, reporting, and prevention for the state-wide home visiting program.  This shall be the sole Epidemiologist 3 within the Office of Early Childhood.

• Supervises and is responsible for routine epidemiologic investigations; 
• Assumes lead responsibility for carrying out complex or non-routine investigations; 
• Develops and implements strategies for containment and control measures among identified high risk groups; 
• Writes outbreak investigation and other technical and analytical reports; 
• Collaborates in writing standard protocols for disease investigation, intervention and control; 
• Develops questionnaires and other research instruments; 
• Analyzes surveillance and outbreak data for trends and risk factors; 
• Designs and implements workshops and training sessions and conducts in-service training; 
• Prepares news releases relative to disease problems; 
• Uses other statewide data banks to complement disease surveillance data; 
• Assists with preparation of budgets, grants and contracts; 
• Participates in development of program goals and objectives; 
• Represents department at functions for health promotion and disease prevention; 
• Speaks before professional and lay groups; 
• Participates in performance evaluations of assigned staff; 
• Carries out related duties including those of Epidemiologist 1 and 2 levels as assigned; 
• May establish and maintain a working network with federal and state agencies, local health departments, hospitals and professional and lay groups to promote and facilitate disease surveillance, intervention and control; 
• Performs related duties as required.

• Considerable knowledge of
  • infectious and/or chronic disease processes; 
  • relevant disease processes which affect humans and animals; 
  • epidemiological methods; 
• Considerable
  • interpersonal skills; 
  • oral and written communication skills; 
  • statistical skills including familiarity with mainframe and/or personal computer applications and interpretation of data; 
• Considerable ability to
  • perform complex epidemiological investigations; 
  • carry out all aspects of data collection, analysis and interpretation of epidemiological data independently; 
• Supervisory ability.

• College training may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equalling one half (1/2) year of experience to a maximum of four (4) years for a Bachelor's degree.
• A Master's degree in community medicine, public health or a related health science may be substituted for one (1) additional year of the General Experience.
• A Doctorate in a related discipline such as medicine, public health or a behavioral or natural science may be substituted for one (1) additional year of the General Experience.

• Incumbents in this class must be willing to be immunized for communicable diseases as necessary and appropriate.
• Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.