Key Courses - MSPH in Global Epidemiology

Prerequisites: BIOS 500 or permission of instructor. For EPI students Only taken in the spring semester of their first year. The course covers fundamental concepts in applied simple and multiple linear regression analyses, one- and two-way analysis of variance and binary logistic regression. Concepts in survival analysis will also be introduced. Students will learn when and how to apply these methods. The emphasis will be on practical data analysis skills rather than statistical theory; however, wherever possible and feasible, mathematical details of regression models will be presented. In-class data analysis examples will employ SAS and R software. Homework assignments, quizzes and exams will include data analyses using SAS and R, as well as other questions designed to reinforce concepts and assess foundational competencies. Teaching assistant office hours will consist of organized review/recitation sessions, and will also include opportunities for student questions.

Prerequisite/concurrent: BIOS 500. Emphasizes the concepts and premises of the science of epidemiology. Methods of hypothesis formulation and evaluation are stressed. Techniques for quantifying the amount of disease (or other health indicator) in populations are introduced, followed by discussion of epidemiologic study designs useful for identifying etiologic factors and other relevant correlates of disease. Students gain facility with the calculation of basic epidemiologic measures of frequency, association, and impact. The concepts of random variability, bias, and effect modification are examined in detail. The use of stratified analysis, including Mantel-Haenszel techniques, is explored. Inferences from study results are discussed. Students are required to analyze and critique studies from the current medical and scientific literature.

Provides an introduction to the SAS and R programming environments and instructs students in the techniques needed to create, organize, and edit data into a final dataset that is ready for epidemiologic analysis.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with practical skills and knowledge for designing, starting and implementing epidemiologic studies in research and practice.

Prerequisites EPI 530, BIOS 500, EPI 534, and BIOS 591P concurrent. MSPH and PhD students only.

This course builds on the fundamental epidemiologic concepts introduced in EPI 530: Epidemiologic Methods I. Specifically, causality, bias (including confounding, information bias, and selection bias), and concepts of mediation and interaction will be revisited in greater depth. By the end of the course, students will be able to do the following: formulate research questions to evaluate causality; evaluate the strengths and limitations of epidemiologic studies; assess how the strengths and limitations of a study affect interpretation of study results; utilize epidemiologic methods to address confounding; identify epidemiologic methods to address selection bias and information bias; and calculate measures to assess interaction.

Prerequisites: EPI 530, 533/534, 539/540/545, BIOS 500, and 591P. Covers concepts, methods, and application of key mathematical modeling approaches used to evaluate multivariable data from epidemiologic studies: logistic regression, Cox regression, collinearity, modeling strategy for determining a best model, goodness of fit, and ROC curves. The course also teaches a broader philosophy and approach for constructing the appropriate models for answering the question under study.

EPI 530, 545, and 550 and/or instructor permission.

This course covers epidemiologic concepts in further depth than previous methods courses and provides an overview of advanced topics in the analysis of epidemiologic data. The course reviews basic concepts behind cohort studies, and introduces students to fundamental survival analysis concepts, including risk and survival, hazards, competing risks, cause-specific and sub-distribution risk, risk difference, and risk ratio estimators. Generalized linear models for conditionally and marginally adjusted risk differences and ratios, as well as methods for correct variance estimation. Concepts of time-dependent confoundinng, and methods that can be used to analyze complex longitudinal data (IP weighting, marginal standardization). This is a required course for students in the MSPH and PhD Epidemiology program.

An Applied Practice Experience (APE) is a unique opportunity that enables students to apply practical skills and knowledge learned through coursework to a professional public health setting that complements the student's interests and career goals. The APE must be supervised by a Field Supervisor and requires approval from an APE Advisor designated by the student's academic department at RSPH.

Enables students to apply the principles and methods learned in an academic setting through the preparation of a monograph that embodies original research applicable to public health, incorporating a hypothesis that has been successfully evaluated with appropriate statistical and epidemiological techniques and is potentially publishable and has public health impact.

Prerequisites: GEH, GH, and GLEPI students only.

The goal of the course is to equip students with critical perspectives to address current and future global health challenges and opportunities as public health professionals and global citizens in this increasingly interdependent world. The course explores historical milestones, actors, assumptions, context and theories driving selected global health priorities in policy, programs and research. To do this, the course will enhance the skills of critical thinking, assessment of evidence from multiple perspectives and application of evidence in formulation of policies, programs and research priorities. A recurring theme throughout the course is that there are common global drivers influencing the health of populations and that cross-cutting issues of equity and systems transcend settings.

Prerequisite: EPI 530. Introduces the basic concepts and premises of the systematic reviews and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies.

Pre-requisites: EPI 530, EPI 534 and EPI 540 or 545 or instructor permission.

Observational epidemiologic studies yield estimates of effect that differ from the true effect because of random error and systematic error. Epidemiologists design studies and analyses to minimize both sources of error. When presenting results, epidemiologists use statistics to quantify the impact of random error on estimates of effect, but often only qualitatively describe residual systematic error (uncontrolled bias). Bias analysis provides one method of quantifying residual systematic error. Students in this course will learn how to use simple, multidimensional, and probabilistic bias analyses, as well as direct bias modeling (regression calibration and missing data methods) to account for systematic error in their estimates of effect. Students should expect to gain new skills, as the emphasis of the course will be on the implementation and conduct of bias analysis, rather than statistical theory.

Prerequisites: EPI 530, EPI 540, EPI 534, and experience using R. The course will provide an overview of the history, concepts and analytical methods that specifically apply to the study of infectious diseases. Topics covered include measures of frequency, burden and natural history; immune-epidemiology; vaccine epidemiology; methods for emerging infectious diseases; fundamentals of modeling and the application of classic epi methods to infectious diseases. This is a required course for the Infectious Disease Epidemiology certificate program.

This course will present the conceptual theory, mathematical framework, and computational tools to conduct mechanistic modeling of infectious diseases.

Various topics by Epi faculty. Check OPUS/Atlas for current topics and descriptions.

Prerequisites: EPI Methods sequence (e.g. EPI 530, 540/545) and generalized linear regression modeling (e.g. EPI 550 or BSHES 532). This course introduces concepts and applications in several areas including the measurement of health inequalities, challenges to causal inference in social epidemiology, and multi-level thinking and analysis.

Prerequisites: None. GH511 is the first in the two-semester Program Cycle sequence and is typically taken in the student's second semester. This course will provide students with theoretical principles and practical skills for designing and managing global health programs and projects. Sessions will focus on core activities following the project life cycle, including community engagement, formative research, situational analysis, theory of change, project design, principles of project and financial management, and ethical considerations and challenges. This course uses a variety of approaches to foster the development of practical skills in program design and management including lectures, interactive group sessions, discussions with experts, and task-based assignments. This course is a prerequisite for GH512 Program Cycle 2: Monitoring and Evaluation of Global Health Programs. The course is taken for a letter grade.

Provides students with the technical skills to conceptualize and design process and impact evaluations of international public health programs or projects. Helps students understand the role of monitoring and evaluation in policy analysis, planning, program design and management.

This course will provide students with the principles and skills for conducting and evaluating qualitative research. Topics include: principles of qualitative research, study design, participant recruitment, ethical considerations, instrument design, data collection methods (interviewing, group discussions and observation), transcription and writing. Students will design and conduct a mini qualitative study to apply skills learned to real world situations. The course outlines challenges of using qualitative methods in international settings and provides guidance on fieldwork planning and implementation to prepare students for their Applied Practice Experience.

Prerequisites: GH 521 or instructor permission. This course provides students with the principles and skills for analyzing qualitative data. Students will learn how to assess data quality, prepare data for analysis, use different analytic techniques, and write and present data. Students will learn analytic techniques through guided classroom activities, lab sessions using MAXQDA software and structured assignments. No data are required, we provide class data sets, but students can use qualitative data collected during their summer applied practice experience if suitable. Each student will work with an individual data set in course assignments.

This course provides an introduction to the collection of quantitative, representative data. Taking an applied approach, we cover the entire process of designing a study, including instrument design, sampling methods, budgeting and training, fieldwork components, and coding and editing of data. The focus is on collecting data in less-developed countries. Students develop their own surveys and accompanying methods proposals, which they may use for their Applied Practice Experience or other projects.

Prerequisites: EPI 530 and BIOS 500. EPI 540, BIOS 501, and GH 531 strongly recommended. This course provides a conceptual and experiential foundation to address research questions using quantitative data. The course emphasizes the technical skills required to transform a quantitative data set (exemplars: NHANES and Demographic and Health Surveys) into a reproducible analysis for global health applications. Students will receive guided, structured experience with quantitatively operationalizing research questions, data acquisition and management, data exploration, formal data description, conceptualization and construction of composite variables, analysis of statistical associations, and addressing common threats to valid inference. Exercises will be completed using SAS software with an emphasis on programming specific to complex survey designs. Students must register for both lecture and lab components.

Prerequisite: EPI 504 or EPI 530 and BIOS 500. This course presents issues in women of being female but not pathologies of reproduction. These include cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and breast and cervical cancer. In addition, health problems related to the physiological and psychological aspects of being female are addressed. These include depression, premenstrual syndrome, addictive behavior, and violence perpetrated by and against women.

This course provides practical training in the investigation, control, and prevention of infectious diseases. Historic and current case studies will be used to teach skills for identifying infectious disease outbreaks, conducting epidemiologic analyses to describe causal factors and affected populations, and implementing public health control measures in collaboration with stakeholders. This course is cross-listed with GH517.

Prerequisite/concurrent: EPI 530. The course surveys selected chronic disease topics to illustrate applications of epidemiologic concepts. The goal of this course is to provide an overview of the descriptive epidemiology, risk factors and preventive strategies for major chronic diseases, and use chronic disease epidemiology to foster the ability to critically read and appraise the epidemiologic literature.

Prerequisite: EPI 530 or EPI 504. This course provides an overview of cardiovascular pathophysiology and applies epidemiology methods to published research studies in the cardiovascular prevention space. The course will foster students' abilities to understand and critically evaluate cardiovascular epidemiology and covers related topics involving social dterminants, disparities, and genetic/molecular mechanisms.

Prerequisites: EPI 530 and BIOS 500 or instructor permission. Explores the epidemiology of the HIV epidemic in the US through a detailed examination of the major types of epidemiologic studies that have led to our current understanding of the epidemic. Students gain an understanding of important issues in the epidemiology of HIV in the US, and, as importantly, increase their understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of various epidemiologic study designs and the interpretation of data from such studies.

Prerequisite/Concurrent: EPI 504 or EPI 530. This course will introduce students to applications of epidemiologic methods and approaches to evaluating the use of human genetic discoveries in the practice of medicine and public health in the 21st century. With the completion of the human genome project, the epidemiologic approach is now urgently needed to assess the prevalence of genetic variation in the population, to characterize the burden of disease associated with genetic variation and with gene- environment interaction, and to evaluate the impact of genetic tests in reducing morbidity and mortality. At the end of the course, participants should be able to identify types of information needed to translate genetic discoveries into medicine and public health and be able to review and evaluate such information in the scientific literature. The course is designed for public health students interested in the intersection of epidemiology, genetics, preventive medicine, and health policy.

The focus of this course is on the epidemiology of obesity, its determinants, and consequences, and population-based methods for investigating obesity. The course will entail a survey of obesity research, including: (1) the biology and physiology of adiposity; (2) behavioral, environmental, social, and genetic determinants of obesity; and (3) the health consequences of obesity. Methodologic concepts in the practice of research, including those related to measurement, modeling and interpretation, will be emphasized in this course.

Prerequisites: EPI 530 or instructor permission. This course introduces the student to the epidemiology of aging populations. Aging and health are characteristics of both individuals and populations. Students will be introduced to the distribution of and trends in chronic disease morbidity, functional disability, and mortality, with a focus on methods for epidemiologic research in aging populations.

Prerequisites: EPI 530, EPI 540, EPI 534, and experience using R. The course will provide an overview of the history, concepts and analytical methods that specifically apply to the study of infectious diseases. Topics covered include measures of frequency, burden and natural history; immune-epidemiology; vaccine epidemiology; methods for emerging infectious diseases; fundamentals of modeling and the application of classic epi methods to infectious diseases. This is a required course for the Infectious Disease Epidemiology certificate program.

Pre-requisites: EPI 504 or 530 or instructor permission. The primary objective of this course is for the student to gain basic knowledge about cancer and issues and methodologies relevant to investigating cancer etiology, prevention, and control using epidemiologic methods. Secondary objectives are for the student to gain experiences in critiquing published cancer epidemiology articles and conducting a literature review and writing a summary of a topic in cancer epidemiology.

Pre-requisites: EPI 504 or EPI 530. Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of disease. Psychosocial Epidemiology is growing subfield of Epidemiology that examines how psychological and social factors influence physical health and disease in human populations. Because the field of Psychosocial Epidemiology is heavily influenced by observational data, the concepts of confounding, mediation and effect modification

will be emphasized throughout the course. Class sessions will consist of presentations by the professor; interactive discussions about key topics, assigned readings and in-class assignments; viewing and discussion of educational DVDs; and student presentations.

Various topics by Epi faculty. Check OPUS/Atlas for current topics and descriptions.

Pre-requisites: EPI 530, EPI 533 or instructor permission. Experience with SAS preferred. This course is designed for students interested in studies of diet and health outcomes. The course provides an overview of methods for estimating dietary intakes. Issues related to the collection, processing, analysis and manipulation of dietary data in relation to foods dietary patterns, nutrients, and dietary supplements will also be addressed. Students will also have theopportunity to apply methods for manipulating dietary data including understanding variation in diet, comparing methods for energy adjustment, manipulating raw data to create food grouping variables for dietary pattern analysis and calculating a dietary score.

Pre-requisites: EPI 504 or EPI 530. This course will focus on social factors influencing health and disease in human populations. With an emphasis on theory, methods, and evidence, several topics of contemporary interest to public health research will be covered: (1) social status; (2) race, ethnicity and racism; (3) discrimination; (4) sex and gender; (5) police brutality; (6) health literacy; (7) immigration/acculturation/assimilation; (8) religion; (9) geography and place; (10) neighborhood; (11) social support; (12) stress; (13) love/compassion. This is a breadth course intended to provide an overview of the field of social epidemiology.

This course reviews the epidemiology of human reproductive function and the methodologic issues involved in studying reproduction. Topics include male and female infertility, pregnancy loss, the impact of infectious diseases on reproduction, contraceptive efficacy, unintended pregnancy, and environmental and occupational impacts on reproduction. Prerequisite: EPI 504 or EPI 530.