Dr. Shruti Mehta, Director The development of antibiotics, improved access to safe food, clean water, sewage disposal and vaccines has led to dramatic progress in controlling infectious diseases. Despite these remarkable achievements, infectious diseases remain the leading causes of death in many parts of the world. Emerging diseases, such as antibiotic-resistant bacteria, SARS coronavirus, and avian and swine influenza viruses have been identified and some have become established in both the developed and developing world. The aim of the infectious disease track is to build upon the core epidemiology curriculum to provide students with the requisite knowledge of the epidemiology, analytical and laboratory methodology, immunology and pathogen biology necessary to understand the dynamic interactions of infectious agents and their hosts, vectors and environment. Capitalizing on the wide range of infectious disease interests at the school, students in this track take a range of courses offered in the Department of Epidemiology and other departments to obtain a broad and thorough understanding of infectious disease epidemiology. A strength of Infectious Disease Epidemiology is the substantial involvement of faculty with preeminent national and international studies of infectious diseases. The Department is particularly strong in the area of HIV/AIDS, where faculty established vanguard studies, including the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) and AIDS Linked to the Intravenous Experience (ALIVE) that have made fundamental contributions to the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in the United States. Other areas of focus include other chronic infections such as hepatitis infections and tuberculosis as well as acute infections including dengue, cholera, malaria, influenza. Research studies within the program range from the molecular to behavioral, from population-based surveys to long-term observational studies to large scale cluster-randomized trials to test behavioral and pharmacologic interventions. Through seminars and discussions with faculty, students become familiar with ongoing projects within the Infectious Disease Epidemiology concentration. These projects afford unique opportunities to gain research experience not obtained through coursework, as well as valuable settings for masters and doctoral thesis projects. In the Infectious Disease Epidemiology track, masters and doctoral students are required to complete a minimum number of credit hours in required and elective courses in four broad categories as listed below. These four categories are 1) required core courses in infectious disease epidemiology; 2) biology and pathogenesis of infectious diseases; 3) advanced analytical and statistical methods (for PhD and ScD students); and 4) electives in infectious disease epidemiology. Students should meet with their academic advisors to plan an enriching program that will meet their individual academic goals. Required and elective courses may be revised periodically.
Required Core Courses in Infectious Disease Epidemiology All students are required to take the courses listed below: (term) 340.627 Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases (4)* (2 nd ) 340.609 Concepts and Methods in Infectious Disease Epidemiology (3) (3 rd ) 340.653 Epidemiologic Inference in Outbreak Investigation (3) (4 th ) 260.611 Principles of Immunology I (4) (1 st )(suggested 2 nd year) AND 260.612 Principles of Immunology II (4) (2 nd ) 260.631 Immunology, Infection and Disease (3) (2 nd )(suggested 2 nd year) 340.660 Practical Skills in Conducting Research in Clinical Epidemiology & Investigation (3) (1 st ) (suggested 2 nd year) 340.717 Health Survey Research Methods (4) (2 nd ) (suggested 2 nd year) 183.631 Fundamentals of Human Physiology (for non-md doctoral students) (4) (2 nd ) (suggested 2 nd year) Biology and Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases All students are required to take at least one of the courses listed below: (term) 340.654 Epidemiology and Natural History of Human Viral Infections (6) (3 rd in class, 1 st online) 260.622 Principles of Bacterial Infection (3) (4 th ) 260.623 Fundamental Virology (4) (1 st, suggested 2 nd year) 260.627 Pathogenesis of Bacterial Infection (4) (2 nd ) 260.636 Evolution of Infectious Disease (3) (1 st ) 260.650 Vector Biology and Vector Borne Diseases (3) (3 rd ) Advanced Analytical and Statistical Methods for PhD and ScD Students in Infectious Disease Epidemiology PhD and ScD students are required to take at least one of the courses listed below: (term) 340.677 Infectious Disease Dynamics: Theoretical and Computational Approaches (3) (4 th ) 340.728 Advanced Methods in the Design and Analysis of Cohort Studies (4) (1 st ) 140.641 Survival Analysis (3) (1 st ) 140.655 Analysis of Longitudinal Data (4) (3 rd ) 140.656 Multilevel Statistical Models in Public Health (4) (4 th ) 140.658 Statistics for Psycho-social Research: Structural Models (4) (2 nd ) 140.662 Spatial Analysis and GIS I (3) (3 rd ) 140.663 Spatial Analysis and GIS II (4) (4 th )
General Electives in Infectious Disease Epidemiology All students are required to take one of the courses listed below: (term) 340.646 Epidemiology and Public Health Impact of HIV and AIDS (4) (1 st, in class; 2 nd online) 340.651 Emerging Infections (2) (4 th ) 340.612 Epidemiologic Basis for Tuberculosis Control (2) (3 rd ) 340.641 Healthcare Epidemiology (4) (2 nd ) 340.744 Advanced Topics on Control and Prevention of HIV/AIDS (4) (2 nd ) 340.769 Professional Epidemiology Methods (4) (3 rd ) 340.770 Public Health Surveillance (3) (4 th ) 182.640 Food and Water-Borne Diseases (4) (3 rd ) 223.662 Vaccine Development and Application (4) (2 nd ) 223.663 Infectious Diseases and Child Survival (3) (3 rd ) 223.665 Infection, Immunity and Undernutrition: Interactions and Effects (4) (3 rd ) 223.682 Clinical and Epidemiological Aspects of Tropical Diseases (3) (4 th ) 223.687 Vaccine Policy Issues (3) (3 rd ) 223.689 Biologic Basis of Vaccine Development (3) (4 th ) 260.652 Principles of Public Health Ecology (4) (2 nd ) 260.656 Malariology (4) (4 th ) 380.761 Sexually Transmitted Infections in Public Health Practice (4) (4 th ) 380.762 HIV Infection in Women, Children, and Adolescents (4) (4 th )
Required Courses by Term First Term: 340.751 Epidemiologic Methods 1 (5) 140.621 Statistical Methods in Public Health I (4)* 140.651 Methods in Biostatistics 1 (4) 340.863 Doctoral Seminars Epidemiology (3) (2nd yr doctoral students only) 340.728 Advanced Methods for Design and Analysis of Cohort Studies (4) 340.717 Health Survey Research Methods (4) (2nd yr doctoral students) (offered 2nd term) 340.660 Practical Skills in Conducting Research in Clinical Epidemiology & Investigation (3) 260.611 Principles of Immunology I (4) 260.623 Fundamental Virology (4) 260.636 Evolution of Infectious Disease (3) 340.728 Advanced Methods for Design and Analysis of Cohort Studies (4) 330.657 Statistics for Psycho-social Research: Measurement (4) 140.641 Survival Analysis (3) 340.646 Epidemiology and Public Health Impact of HIV and AIDS (4) (also offered online in 2nd term) 340.845 Applied Aspects of Cohort Studies (4) Second Term: 340.752 Epidemiologic Methods 2 (5) 140.622 Statistical Methods in Public Health II (4) 140.652 Methods in Biostatistics II (4) 140.658 Statistics for Psycho-social Research: Structural Models (4) 340.863 Doctoral Seminars in Epidemiology (3) (2nd year doctoral students only) 550.865 Public Health Perspectives on Research (2) 340.627 Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases (4) 260.631 Immunology, Infection and Disease (3) 260.612 Principles of Immunology II (4)
183.631 Fundamentals of Human Physiology (4) (non-md, 2 nd year doctoral students) 260.627 Pathogenesis of Bacterial Infections (4) 340.744 Advanced Topics on Control and Prevention of HIV/AIDS (4) 223.662 Vaccine Development and Application (4) Third Term: 340.753 Epidemiologic Methods 3 (5) 140.623 Statistical Methods in Public Health III (4) 140.653 Methods in Biostatistics III (4) 340.863 Doctoral Seminars (3) (2nd yr doctoral students only) 340.609 Concepts and Methods in Infectious Disease Epidemiology (3) 340.654 Epidemiology and Natural History of Human Viral Infections (6) (also offered online 1st term) 260.650 Vector Biology and Vector-Borne Diseases (3) 140.662 Spatial Analysis and GIS I (3) 140.655 Analysis of Longitudinal Data (4) 340.612 Epidemiology Basis of Tuberculosis Control (2) 340.769 Professional Epidemiology Methods (4) 182.640 Food and Water-Borne Diseases (3) 223.663 Infectious Diseases and Child Survival (3) 223.665 Infection, Immunity and Undernutrition (4) 223.687 Vaccine Policy Issues (3) 260.650 Vector Biology and Vector-Borne Diseases (3)
Fourth Term: 340.754** Methodologic Challenges in Epidemiologic Research (5) 140.624 Statistical Methods in Public Health IV (4) 140.654 Methods in Biostatistics IV* (4) 340.715 Problems in the Design of Epidemiologic Studies (4) (2nd year doctoral students) 340.653 Epidemiologic Inference in Outbreak Investigations (3) 340.677 Infectious Disease Dynamics (3) 140.663 Spatial Analysis and GIS II (4) 140.656 Multilevel Models in Public Health (4) 260.622 Principles of Bacterial Infection (3) 340.651 Emerging Infections (2) 340.764 Public Health Surveillance (3) 223.682 Clinical and Epidemiological Aspects of Tropical Diseases (3) 223.689 Biologic Basis of Vaccine Development (3) 260.656 Malariology (4) 380.761 Sexually Transmitted Infections in Public Health Practice (4) 380.762 HIV in Women, Children, and Adolescents (4) 550.860 Research Ethics (1 )++ course is offered each term. This course meets the School requirements. Students may also take 306.665 or 360.670 to satisfy the ethics requirement. ** Required for doctoral students only Black=department/school wide requirements Red=ID EPI required courses Blue=ID EPI requirement one biology and one advanced analytical course Purple=ID EPI electives