Courses Taught by Laurie Svoboda
EHS603: Occupational and Environmental Disease
- Graduate level
- Residential
- Winter term(s) for residential students;
- 3 credit hour(s) for residential students;
- Instructor(s): Laurie Svoboda (Residential);
- Offered Every winter semester
- Last offered Winter 2024
- Prerequisites: None
- Undergraduates are allowed to enroll in this course.
- Description: This course will focus on selected topics in occupational and environmental disease, including an understanding of causation and assessing the scientific literature. The goal will be to cover major toxins/exposures and also key organ systems and/or disease categories, reviewing conditions of historical significance as well as current relevance, all within the concepts and contexts of occupational and environmental epidemiology. Major health effects and disease categories to be covered include: lung diseases related to asbestos and other pneumoconiotic dusts; immunologic lung diseases such as asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis; illness caused by organic solvents and persistent organics; pesticide related diseases; occupational skin disease; occupational hearing loss; occupational infectious diseases; illness caused by metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium; environmental and occupational carcinogens; health effects of ionizing radiation including radon; health issues related to outdoor air pollution and indoor air quality including building related illness and mold; health effects of shift work and the built environment; issues of reproductive health; disparities in occupational and environmental health; and other selected topics.
| Department | Program | Degree | Competency | Specific course(s) that allow assessment | EHS | Environmental Health Promotion and Policy | MPH | Recognize adverse health consequences of common environmental and occupational exposures | EHS603 | EHS | Environmental Health Sciences | MPH | Recognize adverse health consequences of common environmental and occupational exposures to chemical, physical, and biological hazards | EHS603 | EHS | Environmental Health Sciences | MS | Recognize adverse health consequences of common environmental and occupational exposures to chemical, physical, and biological hazards | EHS603 | EHS | Industrial Hygiene | MS | Explain the physiological, toxicological, and/or biomechanical interactions of physical, chemical, biological, mechanical, and ergonomic agents, factors, and/or stressors found in the workplace with the human body | EHS603, EHS556, EHS602 |
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EHS685: Toxicology Case Studies Of Environmental Disasters: How Chemicals Cause Harm
- Graduate level
- Residential
- Fall term(s) for residential students;
- 2 credit hour(s) for residential students;
- Instructor(s): Laurie Svoboda (Residential);
- Last offered Winter 2023
- Prerequisites: None
- Advisory Prerequisites: At least one college-level course in biochemistry and/or molecular biology that included basic concepts of cell and human physiology. An introductory course in toxicology or pharmacology, at either the undergraduate or graduate level, strongly encouraged.
- Undergraduates are allowed to enroll in this course.
- Description: This course will cover the cellular mechanisms by which acute and chronic exposure to chemicals cause harm, using a combination of case studies, scientific and lay articles, lectures and group discussions. The course will also touch on the systemic failures and environmental injustices leading to environmental disasters.
- Learning Objectives: By the end of the course, students should be able to: 1. Articulate specific molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying chemical-induced harm (endocrine disruption, oxidative stress, altered gene regulation, modulation of receptors, etc.). 2. Discuss how a chemical causes disease, starting at the molecular level, proceeding to the level of the organism. 3. Identify principal characteristics of classes of chemicals that may contribute to their toxicity. 4. Explain how chemicals, environmental factors, or disease states may modify the toxicity of a chemical. 5. Describe current laboratory methods for assessing and/or predicting toxicity of selected chemicals at the molecular, cellular, organ and tissue level. 6. Develop/deliver oral presentations and lead class discussions outlining case studies of exposures from environmental disasters (including those caused by environmental injustice) and molecular mechanisms of chemical-induced harm. 7. Critically review scientific and lay articles, orally and in writing. 8. Evaluate scientific presentations through the peer-review process.
EHS869: Research Critiques And Scientific Communications In Ehs
- Graduate level
- Residential
- Fall term(s) for residential students;
- 1 credit hour(s) for residential students;
- Instructor(s): Laurie Svoboda (Residential);
- Offered Every fall semester
- Last offered Fall 2024
- Prerequisites: EHS PhD or MS Student Status
- Description: This is a seminar course for PhD students, MS students and other interested scholars to learn and practice scientific presentation and communication skills (including communication to society) in the environmental health sciences. Students also practice critical analysis of scientific literature. Students will practice effective presentations (for in-person and remote settings).
- Learning Objectives: Updated Learning Objectives: 1. Explain the critical importance of evidence in advancing public health knowledge 2. Demonstrate effective speaking, writing and exhibition of scientific science-related topics to a variety of audiences 3. Examine the components of a scientific paper and the peer-review process 4. Critically analyze and evaluate scientific literature 5. Describe and recognize elements of effective science communication 6. Construct and deliver effective and engaging presentations (written and oral) for lay audiences 7. Present scientific information using professional written and verbal communication formats 8. Evaluate scientific presentations and seminars through peer-review process