Urgent Tsuro

Health Data Scientist, Biostatistician, and Researcher with 8 years of experience leading quantitative analysis of large-scale health datasets, epidemiological research, and public health data systems. PhD-qualified with expertise in health outcomes analysis, longitudinal studies, statistical modelling, data governance, and population health research. Experienced in developing data analysis plans, contributing to funded research protocols and ethics applications, mentoring analysts, co-supervising postgraduate students, and translating complex analytical findings into evidence that informs public health policy and decision-making.

Strong programming expertise in R, Python, SQL, and advanced health data management.

Data Scientist at Western Cape Government: Department of Health and Wellness (2023-02 – Present)

• Created, implemented, and maintained data pipelines supporting 1.5 million+ patient records, ensuring accurate, reliable, and timely data flow.
• Queried, extracted, and processed large-scale healthcare and research datasets using SQL.
• Transformed JSON data into Entity-Attribute-Value (EAV) format using Databricks.
• Developed dynamic SQL scripts to pivot EAV data into analysis-ready wide tables.
• Designed and implemented SQL stored procedures to automate ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes.
• Conducted data analysis using SQL, R, and Python to generate actionable insights for healthcare research, programme monitoring, and operational decision-making.
• Developed interactive Power BI dashboards and analytical reports to visualize key performance indicators, trends, and research findings.
• Maintained high data quality through automated validation, reconciliation, deduplication, and quality assurance processes.
• Collaborated effectively in a hybrid, multidisciplinary work environment, utilizing Jira to track project deliverables, Confluence to maintain technical documentation, and Slack and Microsoft Teams to facilitate communication, knowledge sharing, and coordination across teams.
• Compiled and presented analytical reports and research findings to technical and non-technical stakeholders, supporting evidence-based decision-making.
• Mentored and supported junior team members through technical guidance, knowledge sharing, and best practices in data management and analytics.
• Engaged with business stakeholders to understand business problems, gather requirements, define analytical objectives, and deliver data-driven solutions aligned with organizational goals.

Junior Researcher at Wits Health Consortium / National Institute for Communicable Diseases (2022-08 – 2023-02)

• Designed data analysis plans for neonatal healthcare-associated infection surveillance studies.
• Developed statistical detection algorithms to identify infection clusters and outbreaks across sentinel hospitals.
• Conducted in-depth analysis of whole-genome sequencing data for ESKAPE pathogens to support healthcare-associated infection surveillance.
• Applied statistical and epidemiological methods to identify infection clusters, outbreak patterns, and transmission trends.
• Developed time-place-sequence analytical models to estimate transmission routes during healthcare-associated infection outbreaks.
• Performed data wrangling, cleaning, transformation, and preparation using R to produce analysis-ready datasets.
• Integrated, matched, reconciled, and deduplicated complex datasets to ensure data quality, consistency, and integrity.
• Conducted statistical analyses to identify outbreak patterns and generate evidence to support public health decision-making.
• Compiled comprehensive analytical reports and presented research findings to multidisciplinary and non-technical stakeholders.
• Contributed to scientific manuscripts and the dissemination of epidemiological research findings.

Research Assistant / PhD Researcher at Walter Sisulu University (2018-12 – 2022-08)

• Contributed to statistical analysis plans for funded public health research protocols.
• Supported the development of ethics applications, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and research governance documentation.
• Conducted longitudinal analyses of non-communicable disease outcomes using biostatistical methods.
• Performed quantitative data analysis using R, SQL, and SPSS across multiple public health research studies.
• Managed and maintained research databases supporting large-scale epidemiological and public health research.
• Ensured data quality, integrity, and compliance across multiple health research projects through data validation and quality assurance processes.
• Prepared, cleaned, and managed research datasets for statistical analysis and reporting.
• Produced analytical reports and presented research findings to academic and public health stakeholders.
• Collaborated with multidisciplinary research teams investigating population health outcomes and supporting evidence-based public health decision-making.

PhD in Health Sciences – Walter Sisulu University (2025-09)

MSc in Biostatistics & Epidemiology – University of Fort Hare (2014-10)

BSc (Hons) in Mathematics – Midlands State University (2007-12)