Wisconsin Cancer Reporting System Research Scientist

Introduction

The Department of Health Services (DHS), Division of Public Health (DPH) is recruiting for a Research Scientist to support the Wisconsin Cancer Reporting System (WCRS) within the Office of Health Informatics (OHI). The Wisconsin Cancer Reporting System dataset contains 2.3 million patient abstracts dating back to 1976. Each year over 75,000 new records are sent to the registry with each record containing hundreds of data elements about the cancer diagnosis, staging and treatment.

DPH works with our local and tribal public health partners, and community groups statewide, on a wide variety of programs and services that protect the health of Wisconsin residents.

This position offers the option to work remotely up to 4 days per week and is headquartered in the 201

E. Washington Ave. office in downtown Madison. You must have access to both a private workspace and high-speed internet if you work remotely. A greater in-office presence may be required periodically for meetings, events, training, onboarding, or other operational needs. This position will work Monday through Friday, daytime hours.

As an employee of the State of Wisconsin, you'll have access to an amazing benefits package, including:

• 3.5 weeks of vacation, 9 paid holidays and ample sick time; limitations may apply for leave time usage in the first six months.
• Top rated health plan options starting at $45/month for single plans and $111/month for family plans, after 2 months of state service.
• Exceptional pension plan with a 7.2% employer match in 2026 with lifetime retirement payment. Plus, a tax advantaged supplemental retirement savings plan which allows you to save money directly from your paycheck for retirement. Use this Total Rewards Calculator to see the total value of our competitive benefits package!
• Several flex spending accounts: medical, dependent care, commuter, parking and High-Deductible Health Savings.
• Well Wisconsin Wellness Program.
• A free and confidential employee assistance program that offers employees and their immediate family dependents a variety of tools, resources, and professional consultation services to support their health, goals, and overall well-being.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program employer.

As the Research Scientist for the WCRS, you will provide expert guidance, analysis, and linkages of large datasets central to the WCRS data. You will collaborate with cancer researchers, research analysts and the WCRS epidemiologist. You will also be responsible for the scientific design and implementation of multiple projects involving complex large databases and data systems.

• Serving as the liaison and primary contact with cancer researchers including the University of Wisconsin-Madison Carbone Cancer Center and the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Research Center.
• Serving as the Data Steward for the WCRS data set and ensure compliance with data use agreements signed between DHS and multiple research partners at the local and national level.
• Guiding the research and epidemiological work for the Cancer Prevention grant that includes the WCRS, Well Woman and the Wisconsin Cancer Collaborative.
• Providing statistical analysis and professional consultation for elevated patterns of cancer.
• Ensuring data access and usage policies and procedures are followed, and manage access to WCRS data set to assure data availability to meet researchers’ needs for public health surveillance and analysis.
• Serving as the Principal Investigator on DHS’s Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Registry grant.

The position uses advanced statistical and epidemiological tools, such as SEER
* Stat, Statistical Analysis System (SAS), R, Python, SQL or other advanced analytical software packages. In this position, you will also provide consultation to other DHS colleagues in the areas of advanced statistical and analytic methods, record linkage techniques and data use and interpretation relevant to WCRS data. The data, analysis, research, reports, and information produced by this position contribute to public health decision making.

This position is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of…