Description: Application of epidemiological methods and concepts to analysis of data from epidemiological, clinical or laboratory studies. Introduction to independent research and scientific writing under faculty guidance.
Description: This course will provide skill in use of surveillance techniques for HAIs, concepts of asepsis, disinfection and sterilization evaluation. Students will have opportunities to work through real-life experiences in infection control, including communicable disease exposures, outbreak investigation, biodisaster exercises, risk assessment in the healthcare setting and infections in special populations.
Prerequisites: Enrolled in Epidemiology MS programs
Description: This capstone research project course is designed for Epidemiology MS students (30-credit or 48-credit CESM programs). Working with their mentor, students are expected to develop an original research project to address public health problems using epidemiologic methods.
Students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned in their coursework to important public health questions. Students will work with a faculty mentor to conduct a literature review, develop a research project, develop and implement an analysis plan, write up the results and discuss the implications of the findings, and present their work in the annual Epidemiology Poster Day.
Students are expected to begin their capstone project in their first term and complete it in the second term of their final year (or only, for one-year programs) of training (three credits per term, for a total of six credits). The Epidemiology Master’s committee will help students find an appropriate mentor. Details regarding the structure of capstone writing products and evaluation guidelines will be provided in the MS Student Handbook.
Learning Objectives: The learning objectives of and skills employed in this course are determined by the specific research project. The list below (which is not exhaustive) provides examples of learning objectives for this course:
1. Assess knowledge gaps in the scientific literature;
2. Develop a scientific research question designed to address a gap in the scientific literature
3. Identify appropriate data sources to address a research question;
4. Better understand the role of data in understanding public health problems;
5. Create a data collection instrument and/or collect data;
6. Analyze data (quantitative or mixed data – including both quantitative and qualitative) to test research hypotheses relevant to public health in a manner that reflects principles of epidemiology (e.g., study design, measurement, confounding, etc);
7. Generate appropriate data visualizations and/or presentations;
8. Communicate the significance, approach, and implications of epidemiological research in a written format appropriate for the target audience;
9. Complete research ethics training through the Program for the Education and Evaluation of Responsible Research and Scholarship (PEERRS). Two modules are required: Human Subjects Research Protections and Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarship (RCRS).
Advisory Prerequisites: an introductory microbiology and immunology course or an introductory infectious disease course and an introductory non-communicable disease course.
Description: This course introduces the students to the etiology, pathogenesis, and the evolution of epidemiology of major infectious and non-communicable diseases. It discusses the links between major infectious and non-communicable diseases, including epidemiological evidence, the underlying mechanisms, and their public health implications.
Learning Objectives: 1. Gain an understanding of the international statistical classification of diseases and related health problems.
2. Describe the etiology, history, pathogenesis, and evolution of major infectious and non-infectious diseases in different populations.
3. Review epidemiological evidence for links between major infectious and non-communicable diseases
4. Identify methodologies required for studying links between infectious and non-communicable diseases and for exploring the underlying mechanisms of such links.
5. Discuss the public health implications of epidemiological transitions of human diseases and the infectious and non-communicable disease links.
