Principles of Epidemiology I

PRINCIPLES OF EPIDEMIOLOG

Epidemiology is one of the pillars of public health. Epidemiologists study the distribution and determinants of disease in human populations; they also develop and test ways to prevent and control disease. The discipline covers the full range of disease occurrence, including genetic and environmental causes for both infectious and noninfectious diseases. Increasingly, epidemiologists view causation in the broadest sense, as extending from molecular factors at the one extreme, to social and cultural determinants at the other. This course introduces students to the theory, methods, and body of knowledge of epidemiology. Principles of Epidemiology is designed for students in all fields of public health. The primary objective of the course is to teach the basic principles and applications of epidemiology.

• WR 5:30 p.m.-6:50 p.m.
• 3 points

Principles of Epidemiology III: Applied

PRINS/EPID III:DATA ANALY

The purpose of this course is to provide practical experience in analyzing epidemiologic data. The goal is to familiarize you with various analytic methods and their uses to answer specific epidemiologic research questions. Brief reviews of relevant statistical methods, their applications in epidemiologic research and interpretation of results will be covered step by step in this course. You will be provided with several data sets from epidemiologic (case-control and cohort) studies and will be asked to conduct analyses of these data.

• T 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Teresa Janevic
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• 3 points

Psychiatric Epidemiology

PSYCHIATRIC EPIDEMIOLOGY

This is a semester-long course that addresses issues in adult psychiatric epidemiology. The course begins with a review of the origins of psychiatric epidemiology in several classic studies. It also describes major recent studies, presents evidence concerning the reliability and validity of psychiatric diagnosis in community studies and summarizes evidence derived from epidemiological studies that is relevant to issues of etiology. The course also covers selection into treatment, treatment effectiveness, the distribution of treatment, and social factors affecting course and role functioning.

• R 2:30 p.m.-5:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Katherine M Keyes
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• 3 points

Cancer Epidemiology

CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY

Methods used in cancer epidemiology are critically examined through weekly assigned readings, lectures and class discussion. Topics covered in this course include molecular and cellular biology of cancer, basic mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and the roles of chemical, viral, hormonal, genetic and nutritional factors in human cancer. The natural history of cancer analysis of time trends in cancer incidence, mortality, survival and geographic distribution are also examined. Screening and treatment issues will be discussed.

• W 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Jasmine A McDonald
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• 3 points

Spatial Epidemiology

Spatial epidemiology is the study of geographic distributions and determinants of health in populations. The goal of this class is to introduce students to relevant theory and methods, in order to provide the foundational skills required to understand and critically analyze spatial epidemiologic studies. The course emphasizes spatial epidemiology as a sub-discipline of epidemiology while acknowledging the many scientific disciplines that shape it, including biostatistics, cartography, criminology, demography, economics, geography, psychology, and sociology. We begin by defining spatial epidemiology and exploring these multi-disciplinary roots, with particular regard to the theoretical causal mechanisms that provide a bridge between social and physical environmental conditions and population health. We then provide a basic overview of geographic information systems and their utility for descriptive spatial epidemiology—including data visualization and cluster detection—before demonstrating how to incorporate spatial structures within conventional epidemiologic study designs to examine associational and causational relationships between environmental conditions and health outcomes. Class readings describe advances in theory and methods for spatial epidemiology and related disciplines, as well as concrete examples of applications for communicable disease, non-communicable disease, and injury epidemiology. This course is intended for doctoral and 2ndyear MPH students.

• M 2:30 p.m.-5:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Christopher N Morrison
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• 3 points

Introduction to Clinical Psychiatry for

INTRO-CLIN PSYCH-EPI&PUB

This course, intended for non-clinicians with an interest in psychiatric epidemiology, is designed to familiarize students with the major psychiatric clinical entities and relevant issues concerning diagnosis, based in part on the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. In this course, we will cover the phenomenology of mental illness by way of contemporary psychiatric theory and practice and give students heavy exposure to the process of psychiatric assessment. The course will start by introducing students to how to build a disorder from symptom bricks as well as giving students an in-depth review of clinical psychiatric evaluations. This foundation will ultimately be used through the duration of the semester as we discuss many of the major categories of mental disorders in the following weeks.

• T 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Lawrence V Amsel
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• 3 points

Current Work in Injury Control and Preve

CRNT WORK IN INJURY CONTR

The primary objectives in this course are to gain knowledge about and to critically engage with current topics in the field of injury control and prevention, to develop research and scientific inquiry skills, and to make meaningful connections with experts in this field. In this course, we will learn from experts on four topics in the field of injury control and prevention. By the end of the semester, students will have improved their ability to interpret peer-reviewed research on current topics in injury control and prevention and will be prepared to go forward asking important scientific questions in this field, with a solid sense of what is already known and what is worthy of further inquiry and investigation. Readings will be determined by the four guest speakers based on what is relevant to their field of research.

• M 1 p.m.-2:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Thelma Mielenz
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• 0.5 points

Public Health Surveillance

PUBLIC HEALTH SURVEILLANC

Public health surveillance is the fundamental mechanism that public health agencies use to monitor the health of the communities they serve. It is a core function of public health practice, and its purpose is to provide a factual basis from which agencies can appropriately set priorities, plan programs, and take actions to promote and protect the public's health. This course will cover the principles of public health surveillance, including historical context, vital registration, disease reporting regulations and notifiable diseases, surveillance registries, surveillance for behaviors and risk factors, administrative data sources in surveillance, epidemiologic uses of surveillance data, legal and ethical issues, and dissemination of surveillance information.

• R 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Batya O Elul
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• 3 points

Clinical Epidemiology

CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY

Clinical epidemiology is a basic science of clinical medicine and a subspecialty of epidemiology. It is the application of epidemiologic methods to studying problems encountered in clinical settings pertaining to the causes and management of diseases and medical conditions in individual patients. The central paradigm of clinical epidemiology is that exposure and outcome patterns of the disease in different population groups can be analyzed methodically to gain scientific knowledge about the etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, safety, and effectiveness of therapeutic and other interventions. Epidemiologic methods are increasingly used in clinical investigations to provide scientific evidence for assessing clinical practice and for improving clinical decision making and outcomes. This course is designed to introduce students to basic theories, concepts, and methods of clinical epidemiology, and provide them with the necessary tools and skills to critically appraise the clinical research literature, competently design and conduct clinical studies, and appropriately analyze and interpret clinical data. This course consists of one lecture and one laboratory session per week. Students will be evaluated based on a mid-term exam, final exam, and homework assignments.

• F 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Guohua Li
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• 3 points

Epidemiology of HIV and AIDS

EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HIV/AIDS

This applied course introduces students to the epidemiology of HIV infection in resource-rich and resource-limited settings. Class sessions focus on the latest approaches to conducting surveillance of HIV and AIDS; the evolving burden of HIV infection in sub-groups, including men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, adolescent girls and older people; the development and evaluation of prevention- and treatment-related interventions across a range of settings; and the application of epidemiologic methods to understand historical and current controversies and determine best practices. Activate participation in class discussion and exercises, homework, a group presentation and a final project will be used to evaluate student progress towards learning objectives.

• W 10 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: William J Reidy
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• 3 points

Social Epidemiology

SOCIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY

This course focuses on the branch of epidemiology concerned with how social arrangements, processes, and interactions shape the population distribution of health and disease and produce social inequalities in health. The sub-discipline of social epidemiology has grown dramatically in the past decade and, while still evolving as an interdisciplinary enterprise, it is now an established field of etiologic inquiry, both incorporating and influencing the conventional theories, methods, and principles of epidemiology. This course will familiarize students with the key theories, concepts, methods, findings, and ongoing debates in social epidemiology. Through lectures, readings, and discussion we will review the major social determinants of health, the theories and empirical evidence with respect to how social conditions “get under the skin,” and the methodological challenges involved in measuring social phenomena and making causal inferences about the relationship between social factors and health. By the end of the course students will understand the theoretical, substantive, and methodological parameters of this growing sub-discipline of epidemiologic inquiry, and be able to evaluate both its strengths and limitations.

• W 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Lisa Bates
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• 3 points

Emerging Infectious Diseases

EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEA

In recent years, a number of infections have appeared for the first time, while many others have spread rapidly to new areas; these are termed emerging infectious diseases". HIV/AIDS, SARS, the recent Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), human infections with H5N1 and H7N9 avian influenza, and a number of others are recent examples. Infectious causes have also been implicated in such chronic diseases as gastric ulcers and certain cancers. This course examines the concept of emerging infectious diseases and our current understanding of emergence. The course will consider methods for identifying and studying emerging pathogens, factors responsible for disease emergence, and methods for surveillance and intervention.

• W 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Stephen S Morse
  h-index: 41 Info
• 3 points

Epidemiology of Chronic Disease Seminar

EPI OF CHRONIC DISEASE SE

The primary objectives in this course are to learn to systematically review and summarize primary research in chronic disease epidemiology, to synthesize scientific evidence to establish causal inference, and to understand how this evidence relates to scientific decision making for improving health outcomes. In this course, we will evaluate 4 topics in the epidemiology of chronic diseases. By the end of the semester, students will improve their ability to interpret the literature on current topics in chronic disease epidemiology and will be able to evaluate how the evidence can inform health decision making and causal inference. Readings will be based upon publications highlighted in the Dean’s Seminar Series on Chronic Disease and the Department of Epidemiology’s Chronic Disease Cluster seminars.

• W 5 p.m.-6:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Daniel Belsky
  h-index: 47 Info
• 0.5 points

Epidemiologic Methods in Global Mental H

EPI MTHDS GLBL MENTL HLTH

Mental, neurological, and substance use (MNS) disorders are substantial drivers of the global burden of disease. The burden is particularly high in low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC) where over 80% of persons in need of MNS services go untreated. Yet for decades, attention to MNS epidemiologic research in LMIC was scarce relative to both psychiatric epidemiology studies conducted in high-income countries as well as infectious disease epidemiology studies in LMIC. Recently, however, the emerging field of global mental health has been recognized by international agencies, including the United Nations (via the Sustainable Development Goals) and the World Health Organization (via the Mental Health Action Plan) as major funding agencies, including NIH, CDC, and the UK MRC have followed suit in prioritizing global mental health research. 

 

As the field has emerged, challenges in how to appropriately conduct public mental health research in LMIC contexts have surfaced. Such challenges require the appropriate application of epidemiologic methods in order to accurately measure and describe MNS problems in LMIC and evaluate and implement intervention approaches. Epidemiologic methods to be discussed in this course include: complex survey designs to measure MNS prevalence in humanitarian and emergency settings; validation of mental health screening tools in the absence of a gold standard criterion among culturally diverse populations; evaluation of MNS intervention effectiveness using experimental and non-experimental designs; novel methods for assessing clinical competency and intervention fidelity of lay mental health providers in LMIC; and implementation science tools, designs, and analysis approaches for translating evidence-based interventions into practice in LMIC. 

 

The course is designed to complement Priorities in Global Mental Health (P6813), which provides a broad overview of priority issues in global mental health, and epidemiologic methods series courses (e.g., Quant Core Module / P6400, and Epidemiology II). The course is also designed to be practical in the sense that the intent is for students to learn the ‘how to’ of conducting global mental health epidemiologic studies in the field. Each lecture will apply a core epidemiologic method or concept (e.g., information and selection bias; survey, cohort, case-control, and RCT study designs; effect modification; and causal inference) to the field of global mental health. Through lectures, int

• W 10 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Jeremy C Kane
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• 3 points

Lifecourse Epidemiology

LIFECOURSE EPIDEMIOLOGY

Life course epidemiology is the study of exposures, both physical and social, that occur during the periconceptional period, during gestation or during early childhood and adult health and disease risk. This course will examine conceptual models and identify study designs appropriate for a variety of life course research questions, as well as the limitations of these designs. Understanding the approaches to the life course, the development and evaluation of epidemiologic research designs related to the life course, and the contextual models and their relevance for the design and evaluation of research studies will be covered using a combination of lectures, case studies and small group work.

• W 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Daniel Belsky
  h-index: 47 Info
• 3 points

Advanced Topics in Global Health

ADV TOPICS IN GLOBAL HEAL

This course builds on Priorities in Global Health (PHGH P6811). Maintaining a multidisciplinary focus, the course presents five case studies of global health programs for in-depth study. The course first introduces systems thinking and its application to public health. Using a case study approach, students will then study the global and regional politics and local social contexts in which global health problems occur and will learn to analyze the successes and shortcomings of global public health interventions from a systems perspective. The course is open to students enrolled in the Global Health certificate (or by instructor's permission).

• R 10 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Anne Paxton
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• 3 points

History of Epidemiology

HISTORY OF EPIDEMIOLOGY

This Course examines the emergence and evolution of epidemiological methods (e.g., study designs) and concepts (e.g., confounding, bias, interaction, and causal inference) that constitute today’s epidemiology.

• R 2:30 p.m.-5:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Ezra S Susser
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• 3 points

Biology and Pathophysiology for Epidemio

BIOL/PATHOPHYSIOL FR EPID

This course is designed to provide the doctoral students with the basic fundamentals of biology and physiology to facilitate their epidemiologic work.

• M 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Rafal Tokarz
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• 3 points

Master's Essay in Epidemiology I

MASTER'S ESSAY IN EPI I

All candidates for the M.P.H. and the M.S. degrees in epidemiology are required to write a master's thesis, usually based on an original analysis of previously collected epidemiologically relevant data. Students are responsible, with assistance from faculty, for finding a dataset and two readers, one of whom must be a faculty member in the Department of Epidemiology. Students register for P9419 at least two semesters before the targeted graduation date and it is required that students obtain access to a dataset they will use for their thesis prior to the course. The course guides students through development of the master’s thesis proposal by reviewing critical elements in writing each element of a thesis, development of a study question, writing specific aims, study design and analysis.

• R 4 p.m.-5:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Larkin S McReynolds
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• 1 points

Faculty-Fellow Seminar in Psychiatric Ep

FACULTY SEM-PSYCH EPIDEMI

Primarily for fellows in the Psychiatric Epidemiology Training Program. Presentation and discussion of ongoing faculty and fellow research, plus guest speakers. Designed to provide constructive criticism of research in progress and to make fellows aware of current issues in psychiatric epidemiology.

• R 1 p.m.-2:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Sharon B Schwartz
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• 1 points

Epidemiology V: Concepts in Causal Infer

EPI V: CNCPTS-CAUSAL INFE

The past two decades have witnessed both a maturation of the field of epidemiology and a proliferation of critiques of the field. The debates around these critiques were so fierce that Rothman and Poole labeled them the epidemiology wars". These wars have abated and spawned two different and sometimes opposing currents in epidemiology: a renewed interest in causal inference and an acceptance of social and lifecourse epidemiology.

• M 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Sharon B Schwartz
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• 3 points

Study Design

The Study Design course for Epidemiology doctoral students will provide formal instruction in core study designs including randomized control trials, cohort, case-control, and ecological study designs.  The goal of the course is for students to master the choice of design, and its strengths and limitations, based on the research question.  Students will practice writing the following sections of a research proposal: research design, including the rationale for the design, impact, significance and methods.

 

• R 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Jeanine Genkinger
  h-index: 36 Info
• 3 points

Thinking, Speaking, and Writing Like an

Think Like an Epidemiolog

This course is designed as an advanced seminar/workshop for 2nd year master’s students in epidemiology who are seeking to strengthen their critical thinking skills and hone their abilities to effectively communicate public health content to varied audiences, for varied purposes, through scientific writing and oral communication. This course will provide practical experiences that reinforce core epidemiology skills, including data interpretation, data synthesis, and critical analysis of epidemiologic research, with an emphasis on logic and reasoning, scientific argumentation, and effective communication. By the end of the course, students will be able to develop well-reasoned arguments that can be supported by existing epidemiology evidence, synthesize extant epidemiologic literature and draw conclusions about current gaps in knowledge and/or barriers to advancing the field, and design presentations and visuals aids for disseminating public health content to specific audiences. Didactic lectures/presentations and course discussions will focus on identifying and appropriately citing scientific sources; making logical scientific arguments; effective argumentation; effective writing and oral presentation skills development/enhancement; identifying challenges to effective written and oral communication and strategies to address them; skills development in the peer-review process, and tailoring scientific presentations to various types of audiences and for various purposes. Students will be required to actively participate in course activities (online and in-person) and will be evaluated on the progress made on a semester's long project (on their topic of choice), which will culminate in a portfolio of deliverables.

• M 2:50 p.m.-5:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Adana Llanos
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• 3 points