Courses Taught by Meza Rafael

EPID698: Ms Capstone In Epidemiology

• Graduate level
• Residential
• Fall, Winter term(s) for residential students;
• 3 credit hour(s) for residential students;
• Instructor(s): Michael Swain, Howard Stein, Evan Snitkin, Jennifer Smith, Aruna Sarma, Alex Rickard, Julia Richards, Paul Resnick, Sarah Reeves, Meza Rafael, Laura Power, Patricia A Peyser, C. Leigh Pearce, Gilbert Omenn, Duane Newton, Belinda Needham, Lewis Morgenstern, Hal Morgenstern, Arnold S Monto, Alison Mondul, Eve Mokotoff, Briana Mezuk, Dan McConnell, Emily Martin, Juan Marquez, Lynda Lisabeth, Elizabeth Levin-Sparenberg, Paul Lephart, Aleda Leis, Peter Larson, Lindsay Kobayashi, Devon Keen, Mark Katz, Carrie Karvonen-Gutierrez, Sharon Kardia, Spruha Joshi, Jihyoun Jeon, Tyler James, Kirsten Herold, William Herman, Jennifer Head, Michael Hayashi, Sioban Harlow, Alexis Handal, Betsy Foxman, Nancy Fleischer, Marisa Eisenberg, Joseph Eisenberg, Philippa Clarke, Carol Chenoweth, Miatta Buxton, James Buskiewicz, Andrew Brouwer, Matthew Boulton, Melissa Beck, Kelly Bakulski, Ella August, Sara Adar, Eduardo Villamor, Abram Wagner, Xin Wang, Douglas Wiebe, Mark L Wilson, Zhenhua Yang, Jonathan Zelner, (Residential);
• 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).
• Syllabus for EPID698

EPID730: Simulation Modeling of Tobacco Use, Health Effects and Policy Impacts

• Graduate level
• Residential
• Summer term(s) for residential students;
• 2 credit hour(s) for residential students;
• Instructor(s): Jihyoun Jeon, Meza Rafael, (Residential);
• Prerequisites: None
• Advisory Prerequisites: Either tobacco epidemiology or tobacco control knowledge, or familiarity with modeling. For those without modeling background, we recommend taking the EPID 793 Complex Systems Modeling for Public Health Research course first (offered the prior week)
• Undergraduates are allowed to enroll in this course.
• Description: This course will introduce students to the use of simulation modeling to assess the burden of tobacco use on health and project the impact of tobacco control interventions and regulations on use patterns and downstream health effects.
• Learning Objectives: This course will introduce students to the use of simulation modeling to assess the burden of tobacco use on health, and project the impact of tobacco control interventions and regulations on use patterns and downstream health effects