Practicum Student Immunization & Vaccine Preventable Diseases

Practicum Student - Immunization & Vaccine Preventable Diseases

Location: Toronto-661 University

Department: Immunization and Vaccine Preventable Diseases

This posting is to fill a current vacancy.

The immunization and vaccine-preventable diseases team at PHO provides scientific and technical support for vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD) and immunization programs in Ontario including provincial VPD outbreak coordination and surveillance of VPDs vaccine safety and vaccine coverage. Our team also supports several applied public health research projects at PHO including data linkages at ICES. ICES is an independent not-for-profit research institute that houses many of Ontarios health and health services administrative data.

In this practicum the student will have the opportunity to contribute to several ongoing PHO-led ICES projects. The selected student will create data analysis plans oversee analyses and interpret results and/or prepare manuscripts or other knowledge projects for at least one of these applied public health research projects.
1.A population-based linked data study to compare immunization coverage between school-aged immigrant and refugee children and their Ontario-born peers.
2.A population-based study to estimate changes in rates of physician billings for childhood immunizations delivered in primary care settings before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
enhanced outbreak investigation of measles cases associated with the multi-jurisdictional outbreak in Ontario to examine healthcare and resource utilization complications risk factors and breakthrough infections and vaccine effectiveness.

Suggested placement start and end date: May to August 2026

Please note:
This position is only open to students who are currently enrolled in an academic program where the completion of a practicum placement is required.
This position is only open to students currently residing in Ontario and attending a Canadian academic institution. Preference will be given to students enrolled in Ontario-based academic institutions.
This is a paid placement.

Educational objectives:

• Learn about the different ways that surveillance data are collected and how public health surveillance is performed in Ontario and about ICES administrative data holdings and how to work with linked administrative data.
• Develop and execute a data analysis plan oversee and troubleshoot data analyses and/or interpret outputs and synthesize findings.
• Communicate results in oral and written formats and contribute to the development of knowledge products (e.g. abstracts manuscripts reports conference posters/presentations).
• Conduct literature reviews and evidence syntheses to inform the development of data analysis plans and/or knowledge products as required.

Proposed deliverables at the end of the placement:

• An ICES dataset creation plan to be executed by an ICES analyst.
• An oral presentation to be presented to a public health audience.
• An abstract to be submitted to a scientific conference or meeting.
• A draft manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Required education and experience:

• Currently completing a practicum-based masters program at a Canadian academic institution.
• Completed at least one graduate-level course in each of epidemiology and biostatistics.
• Prior knowledge of or experience with ICES data holdings would be an asset.

Duration: Student (Fixed Term) 3 month(s)

Hours of Work: Full time 36.25 hours per week

Compensation Group: Individual Contributor

Compensation Range: $700.00 - $725.00

Posting Date:

Closing Date:

Please note: applications will be received no later than 11:59pm on the date preceding the closing date as indicated on the Job Requisition.

Note: Internal candidates will be considered first.

While we thank all applicants for their interest only those selected to move forward in the recruitment process will be contacted. Any information obtained during the course of recruitment will be used for employment recruitment purposes only and not for any other purpose.

PHO is committed to ensuring equity in employment. Our goal is to create a diverse inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve and to ensure our services and communications are accessible to all individuals. Any candidate who requires a job posting in an alternative format may email a request to Once an applicant has been selected for an interview they can inform PHO about any accommodations they may require at any stage of the interview process.