Practicum Student - Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance and Prevention
Location: Toronto-661 University
Department: Scientist, Third Party Grants
This posting is to fill a current vacancy.
The placement will be situated in the AMR/ASP team at PHO, a multidisciplinary team that includes expertise in medicine, pharmacy, epidemiology, biostatistics, and public health, and that has access to a variety of data sources including medico-administrative data (via ICES), the Ontario Laboratory Information System (OLIS), and drug purchasing data (IQVIA). The objective of the AMR/ASP team at PHO is to reduce the burden of antimicrobial resistant infections in Ontario, by conducting disease surveillance, identifying drivers of resistant infections, and designing and testing interventions to reduce resistance. The practicum will involve conducting studies to identify drivers of various antimicrobial resistant infections (e.g. Clostridiodes difficile, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia), examining variation in antibiotic prescribing, and/or measuring the effectiveness of stewardship interventions. The students’ role will involve designing and writing new protocols for epidemiologic studies, coding and running statistical analyses, and/or writing and publishing reports on antimicrobial resistance.
Suggested placement start 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:
- Gain knowledge of AMR infections of public health relevance, including their etiology and risk factors.
- Learn of interventions to reduce the incidence of AMR infections, including antimicrobial stewardship.
- Apply epidemiologic principles to design and/or analyze studies identifying new risk factors and evaluate interventions retrospectively, including cohort studies and controlled interrupted time series.
- Use their writing skills to concisely summarise study results in manuscript or report format.
Education and experience:
- Strong writing skills, evidenced by writing samples and/or first-author publications.
- Strong statistical programming and data visualization skills in R or SAS.
- Experience designing epidemiologic studies.
- Knowledge of microbiology or infectious diseases (not required).
- Prior bachelor’s degree education with substantive quantitative, statistical, or data science coursework.
- Currently be enrolled in a graduate program in epidemiology, biostatistics, or data science.
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: 01-7-2026
Closing Date: 01-22-2026
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 HR_Inquiries@oahpp.ca. 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.