PHSI Care Intern

The Center for Public Health Science and Innovation (PHSI) at the Boston Public Health Commission is seeking a motivated student intern to support efforts that translate data into actionable public health insights. PHSI leads applied analytics, surveillance, and evaluation initiatives to help the City of Boston identify priority health needs, understand inequities, and guide strategic decision making. Grounded in a strong racial justice and health equity framework, PHSI prioritizes approaches that center communities most impacted by inequities and elevate lived experience alongside quantitative data. This internship offers hands-on experience working with real-world public health data, with a particular focus on emerging initiatives to support Boston’s preparedness for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and other large-scale events.

Duties

• Support development of systems and processes to identify Boston’s most pressing health issues and track how they change over time
• Assist in analyzing data to determine which populations are most impacted and where inequities persist
• Contribute to evaluation of public health programs to assess effectiveness and whether intended populations are being reached
• Help synthesize findings into clear, actionable insights for internal teams and external stakeholders
• Translate data into human-centered narratives that integrate quantitative findings with community context and lived experience
• Coordinate across multiple bureaus to identify priority conditions and data needs related to mass gatherings
• Convene and engage population advocates and subject matter experts to inform surveillance priorities and interpret findings
• Contribute to scientific writing, including reports, briefs, and situational awareness products like situational reports (SitReps), dashboards, etc.
• Assist in developing tools, trackers, and workflows to maintain progress in World Cup data efforts

Learning Objectives

• Gain experience applying data to inform public health strategy and resource allocation
• Develop skills in translating analytic findings into actionable, equity-centered recommendations
• Learn how to integrate lived experience and community voice into data storytelling
• Build exposure to public health preparedness efforts for large-scale events

Additional Information

• This is an unpaid internship
• Academic credit may be available depending on program requirements
• Hybrid work options may be available

• Analytic experience using SAS or R
• Experience working with data and conducting basic analyses
• Experience creating dashboards or data visualizations (Power BI preferred)
• Experience applying a racial equity or justice lens to data analysis or program evaluation
• Familiarity with qualitative methods, community engagement, or participatory research approaches
• Experience translating data into accessible, human-centered stories (e.g., reports, briefs, presentations, dashboards)
• Interest in public sector work and community health