CDC Cancer Surveillance Informatics Fellowship
*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.
A research opportunity is currently available in the Cancer Surveillance Branch (CSB) in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC) within the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.
CDC is one of the major operation components of the Department of Health and Human Services. CDC works to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same. The Cancer Surveillance Branch, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC), NCCDPHP, manages the National Program of Cancer Registries which currently funds 45 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to implement population-based cancer surveillance systems to collect and report required cancer data. The CSB has focused efforts to improve the quality and timeliness of cancer surveillance systems by implementing standardized electronic reporting from critical data sources to central cancer registries (CCRs).
There are several projects in CSB to implement and improve standardized, electronic reporting of cancer information from healthcare provider Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems and Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) to CCRs. This research project will provide opportunities for recently graduated professionals to train with a CDC public health advisor, CDC health scientist, and other public health experts in CSB to gain knowledge and expertise in cancer surveillance standards and information technology, collaborating with partners, and conducting requirements gathering analyses. The CSB public health advisor and CDC health scientist will provide training and guidance on cancer surveillance electronic reporting activities. Activities will include training with CCRs, physician offices, and laboratories to implement electronic reporting of cancer data to funded CCRs.The fellow will participate in activities to implement electronic reporting from these critical data sources to CCRs using consistent reporting standards and new, cutting edge health information interoperability standards. In addition, the fellow will train and participate with CDC experts to gain knowledge and expertise in gathering and analyzing requirements for cancer surveillance reporting, developing and reviewing standards for cancer reporting, and testing and implementation of these reporting standards.
In line with the focus of this research opportunity, the selected participant will also:
- Participate in activities related to Making EHR Data More Available for Research and Public Health (MedMorph) project to learn about and provide input on cancer reporting use case documentation, data elements, implementation guide development, reference architecture, evaluation plan, testing and implementation, and other MedMorph activities.
- Participate in activities related to development of an HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) implementation guide for cancer electronic pathology reporting.
- Participate in the Pediatric and Young Adult Early Case Capture Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Project meetings and activities to learn how a rapid case ascertainment system will be implemented to capture standardized electronic pediatric cancer case data in real-time.
- Participate in activities related to Common Oncology Data Elements eXtensions (CodeX) HL7 FHIR Accelerator project.
- Learn how to gather and analyze requirements for implementation of electronic cancer reporting.
- Learn how to develop and read HL7 Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) documents.
- Participate in calls with EHR vendors, learn how to assess issues and write up issue documents.
- Learn how to develop HL7 CDA test cases and test CSB developed software that are used by CCRs to receive physician cancer reports and document findings.
- Gain experience through participating with CSB staff to implement electronic reporting from physician offices and laboratories to CCRs.
- Gain experience by participating in workgroup meetings related to physician reporting, MedMorph, CodeX and other related workgroups.
- Participate in Adapting Clinical Guidelines for the Digital Age Informatics Team meetings.
- Attend and present at national meetings.
Please see the following link for more details on the National Program of Cancer Registries (NPR): https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/npcr/
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: October 2020
This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and CDC. The initial appointment can be up to one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of CDC contingent on the availability of funds. The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. The appointment is full-time at CDC in the Atlanta, Georgia, area. Participants do not become employees of CDC, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits.
If you have questions, send an email to ORISE.CDC.NCCDPHP@orau.org.