In 2024, CSTE launched a new fellowship program, the Senior Public Health Data Strategy Fellowship, placing mid-level professionals with technical skills in data science or informatics in state, local, territorial, or tribal health agencies.

The goal of this program is to recruit and place fellows with skills in data science and informatics in health departments for a time-limited appointment to support agency capacity. Fellows will play a critical role in advancing the goals of the CDC’s Public Health Data Strategy.

Fellows will apply their skills to advance vital work with public health data to create the conditions where all people can reach the highest standard of health. Fellows will help their host site to make priority information system improvements, filling key technical roles at health departments. Health departments will have a variety of projects where a fellow’s skills and interest will make a meaningful contribution. For example, moving data entry from paper to an electronic database or automating data exchange with other organizations to improve the ability of public health to act on data in a timely manner to improve the health of all people.

Based on their specific skills, knowledge, and interests, successful fellow candidates will be carefully matched to a state or local health agency through a mutual selection process. The exact responsibilities and desired skills for any fellow will vary depending on the specific state or local health agency. Health departments complete their own application to be included as a placement site in this fellowship program.

Funding disclosure: CSTE is the sponsoring organization for this fellowship program, which is funded by the CDC Foundation. All the host sites where fellows will work are STLT health departments.

This program/website is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award titled Public Health Data Strategy Workforce Acceleration Initiative totaling $2.4M with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

CSTE Senior Public Health Data Strategy fellows will work in a dynamic public health department. They will have the opportunity to advance vital work with public health data to create the conditions where all people can reach the highest standard of health. Fellow projects will advance the goals of the Public Health Data Strategy.

For the duration of this fellowship, fellows’ skills will enable their host site to make priority information system improvements. Health departments will have a variety of projects where a fellow’s talents will make a meaningful contribution. The work fellows do will improve the ability of public health to act on data in a timely manner to improve the health of all people.

Based on their specific skills, knowledge, and interests, successful fellow candidates are carefully matched to a State, Territorial, Local, or Tribal (STLT) health department, based on a mutual ranking process. The exact responsibilities and desired skills for any fellow will vary depending on the specific State, Territorial, Local, or Tribal (STLT) health department host site. Health departments complete their own application to be included as a placement site in this fellowship program.

Examples of potential fellow projects:

• Enhance, upgrade, or replace a system: Develop requirements for replacing a case investigation system.
• Move data entry from paper to directly into an electronic database.
• Increase access to analysis results through dashboard or ‘open data’ tools: Create an interactive data dashboard to communicate cancer surveillance data from hospitals, medical facilities, and other data sources.
• Assess and improve data quality, harmonize data fields across databases: Add geocoding fields to core databases.
• Automate data exchange with other organizations: Automate data flows between multiple data sources, including vital statistics and registry data, and an environmental health data dashboard.

Host Site Eligibility

• Host sites must be state, local, territorial, or tribal health agencies.
• Mentors and supervisors are expected to have at least four years’ leadership or management experience.
• Adequate time to supervise and mentor the fellow (combined 4 hours per week).

Host Site Application

Applications must be complete and submitted by the deadline to be considered. Submission of an application does not guarantee placement of a fellow. Host site applications are now closed