Prerequisite: None
Introduction to the basic principles, methods, and uses of epidemiology. This course is a master’s/doctoral level course designed to introduce epidemiology, its methods and its role in public health. A major portion of the course will be devoted to an overview of fundamental epidemiologic methods used in public health research and practice. The student will be familiarized with basic measures used in describing disease frequency in populations. Descriptive and analytic approaches to the study of disease will be explored, and a perspective on the role of epidemiologic methods in health services planning and evaluation will be provided. Problem solving exercises will be used to provide students with an opportunity to tabulate data and apply subject matter developed during lectures and in reading assignments. At the end of the course students should have a general understanding of the uses and limitations of epidemiologic inquiry. This understanding should provide the basis for applying epidemiologic concepts in work-related settings and in other courses in the public health curriculum.
Format: seated
Prerequisite: None
Introductory course that explores the role of environmental factors in health with an emphasis on characterization, assessment, and control of environmental hazards. Topics include application of toxicologic and epidemiologic methods in assessing risk and setting exposure limits; the nature of and control of hazards associated with food, water, air, solid and liquid waste, occupation, and radiation; risk communication and management, environmental justice; and environmental laws. The course concludes by examining the impact of human activity, such as energy use and pollution, on the environment and how human-induced environmental change, in turn, impacts public health and that of the planet as a whole.
Format: seated and online
Prerequisite: none
Provides a graduate-level overview of environmental exposure assessment. Exposure assessment is a key component of environmental health sciences. This class will examine a broad spectrum of environmental hazards (e.g., chemical, biological, and physical hazards) covering all major exposure media (air, water, soil, food, etc.). The course is intended to give students a basic knowledge of the design of environmental monitoring and modeling studies, the techniques and equipment used for sampling and analysis, the interpretation of data, and how to link exposure assessment with environmental health. The course builds on comprehensive training topics, including lectures on basic principles, fieldwork for monitoring, and data analysis, and modeling exercises in the computer lab. Students will be able to apply this knowledge to the assessment of exposure risk in a variety of environmental situations. The linkages among external concentrations, spatial and temporal parameters, exposure pathways (inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact), internal dose, and biomarker expression are developed within the context of environmental exposure and risk assessment.
Format: seated
Prerequisite: None
Intended to inform faculty and MS and PhD students in EEH about new and continuing areas of research and public policy issues in public health and epidemiology. Invited speakers will include EEH and Roswell Park faculty, graduate students, faculty from other departments at the University at Buffalo, and nationally and internationally recognized experts in public health and epidemiology from outside the University.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
For master’s students (MS or MPH) with special interests not satisfied through the formal course work, there is an opportunity to pursue independent study under the direction of a faculty member
Prerequisite: None
Through the thesis students will design, implement, complete and report on significant and original, independent epidemiologic research. Students will conduct their research under the supervision of their major professor and a thesis committee.
Instructor: Staff
Students are required to sign up for 1 credit in the fall and spring semesters of the second (MS) and third (PhD) year of their program of study. MS and PhD students are required to sign up for 0 credits in all other semesters in the program.
Prerequisites: None
The goal of this course is to showcase current student research within the department and to provide a venue for constructive feedback on ongoing work in the department. EEH650 gives an opportunity for EEH students to present new hypotheses, ongoing research and manuscripts in development. Required for MS and PhD students (MPH students and postdoctoral fellows are welcome to participate).
Additionally, several sessions each semester will be devoted to practical skill development and discussions about career development. Topics may vary from year to year, but are likely to include skills like preparing effective presentations, conducting literature reviews, ethics in publishing, mock interviews, registering study protocols, (re)writing articles for different audiences, and professional development discussions on developing a scholarly/research career, building strong support networks, navigating large team dynamics, physical and mental self-care, and growing within institutions.
3 Credits, Fall Semester
Prerequisite: None
The course will provide students with an understanding of and appreciation for population approaches to improving the health of our nation and the world, as well as knowledge of various career paths in public health. Course content includes: public health perspectives on health, wellness, illness, and population well-being; key influences on the health and well being of individuals and populations; assessing public health problems from a population health perspective; using the five core components of public health to address health problems; effectively utilizing health information to address public health issues; and career paths in public health and the training/expertise required to pursue them. Students will engage in critical assessment of historical and current public health events, and creative application of their foundational knowledge to new public health problems. The course is particularly applicable to students preparing to pursue a health-related career and to students in health professions programs desiring a knowledge of public health approaches.
Corequisite: Students must enroll in STA 527 LEC and STA 527 REC in the same term.
This course is designed for students concerned with medical data. The material covered includes: the design of clinical trials and epidemiological studies; data collection; summarizing and presenting data; probability; standard error; confidence intervals and significance tests; techniques of data analysis including multifactorial methods and the choice of statistical methods; problems of medical measurement and diagnosis; and vital statistics and calculation of sample size. The design and analysis of medical research studies will be illustrated. MINITAB is used to perform some data analysis. Descriptive statistics, probability distributions, estimation, tests of hypothesis, categorical data, regression model, analysis of variance, nonparametric methods, and others will be discussed as time permits.
Instructor: Kuhlmann
Format: seated and online
This course meets the requirements for research ethics training mandated by federal sponsors (i.e. NIH). RSC 602 will give students a broad overview of research ethics and regulation. It conveys the moral basis of scientific ethics and the historical evolution of social science and biomedical research ethics and the development, implementation, and limitations of US human subjects’ regulations. The course includes readings, lectures, and case-based discussions on topics such as ethics and morality in science, scientific integrity, misconduct, whistleblowing, conflicts of interest, collegiality, publication/authorship, peer review, history and development of human experimentation ethics and regulations, IRBs, informed consent, privacy/confidentiality of records, ethics in the social and medical sciences, and research using animal subjects.
Prerequisite: EEH 501
Provides information on advanced topics in epidemiologic methods. Emphasis is on various concepts related to the conduct of epidemiologic research. This course extends understanding of topics presented in EEH 501 and presents new topics in advanced epidemiologic methods.
Format: seated
Prerequisite: None
An explanation of basic principles and methods of measurement and their application in public health-related research. These include development and use of different types of instruments and scales for measuring behavioral and social constructs and biological characteristics; effects of measurement error; traditional and innovative methods of data collection; validity and reliability of measurement; response rates; misuse and misinterpretation of results. Students will apply the course content to a construct or characteristic chosen at the beginning of the course.
Prerequisite: None
Provides an overview of compelling public health problems among the world’s poor. Topics addressed will include infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis; the rise of tobacco-related disease; the role of water, hygiene, and sanitation in the prevention of disease; maternal and neonatal mortality; surveillance; and disaster response in the resource-poor setting. Students will gain practical experience in developing and presenting strategies for the implementation and evaluation of public health programs in the resource-poor setting.
Prerequisites: EEH 501 and EEH 550
Advanced course designed to provide students with the latest knowledge and an in-depth discussion of how the environment interacts with human biological systems and potentiates various health effects over the life cycle. The course includes a detailed examination of environmental hazards, exposure assessment, human susceptibility, biological response pathways, application of biomarkers in environmental health studies and the disease burden of environmental exposure. The course focuses on three major environmental topics: air pollution, water pollution and food safety.
Format: seated
Prerequisite: None
Provides an in depth overview of the epidemiology on various cancer sites. Standard methodologies and analytic techniques used in cancer epidemiology will be covered. Attention given to critical review of known or suspected cancer risk factors.
Cross listed with PTR 525.
Prerequisite: EEH 501
Discusses the major strengths and weakness of dietary assessment methods used in epidemiologic studies to investigate associations between diet and disease (e.g., 24-hour recalls, food records, food frequency questionnaires, nutritional biomarkers). An introduction to nutritional epidemiologic analysis will be presented and discussed including analysis of nutrients, foods and dietary patterns. Critical evaluation of nutritional epidemiologic literature will be practiced.
Prerequisite: EEH 500, EEH 501
Focuses on the theory and epidemiologic methods used in the epidemiologic study of infectious diseases. Emphasis is on the investigation of infectious disease outbreaks, evaluations of vaccine efficacy and effectiveness, and surveillance for infectious diseases of public health importance. The course includes an examination of the following infectious diseases, among others: HIV/AIDs, influenza, foodborne disease, sexually transmitted infections, dengue fever, and vaccine-preventable diseases.
Format: seated
Prerequisites: EEH 500, EEH 501
Provides epidemiology and environmental health students with a working knowledge of epidemiologic theory and practice applied to issues of environmental health. Case studies and specific environmental issues will be used to illustrate the application of epidemiologic theory to understand the role of environmental factors in the etiology of disease.
