NOTE: The courses listed below include active and historically offered courses. All courses may not be offered currently. View current course offerings at Gibson Online.
EPID 6030 EPIDEMIOLOGIC METHODS I (3)
The purpose of this course is to prepare students to function effectively as mid-level epidemiologists in public health agencies or other settings. The knowledge base and skills that are the focus of this course are fundamental to the scope of work expected of master's degree graduates in epidemiology. The course focuses on epidemiologic approaches to activities that are a routine part of public health practice. Offered fall, spring and summer semesters. Faculty: J. Gustat, S. Hassig, S. Straif-Bourgeois. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 6130 DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF HIV/AIDS PROGRAMS (3)
Prerequisites: EPID 6030. Recommended: EPID 7210, EPID/INHL 6240.This course provides an opportunity for the student to acquire and practice the knowledge and skills required in the process of designing and evaluating responses to one of the major health problems facing both developed and developing countries today and in the future. It emphasizes the importance of multidisciplinary inputs to program design and the development of methodologically sound programs. It demonstrates how evaluation planning and implementation are incorporated into programmatic responses at the design phase. Offered intermittently. Faculty: S. Hassig. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 6210 CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY (3)
Prerequisite: EPID 6030. This course will explore current and historical trends in cancer incidence and mortality and evaluate the current state of the science regarding cancer etiology. Students will critically evaluate the methodological tools commonly employed in the practice of cancer epidemiology, and explore current controversies in the field, including the relative contributions of genes and the environment in cancer susceptibility, and the tradeoffs associated with cancer screening decisions, among others. Students will develop an understanding of the known contributors to cancer risk, and will also appreciate the barriers to progress in cancer prevention and control. Offered fall semester. Faculty: A. Hoffman See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 6220 CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGY (3)
Prerequisite: EPID 6030.This course reviews the epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases. It emphasizes the interrelationships of the biological and epidemiological aspects of the disease. Wherever possible, their application to prevention of the disease will be discussed. The course covers coronary heart disease, stroke, and end stage renal disease. Attention is focused both on established major modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease as well as putative risk factors that have potential relevance for public health. Offered spring semester. Faculty: L. Bazzano. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 6230 COMPUTER PACKAGES FOR EPIDEMIOLOGY (2)
This course will introduce the student to the SAS 9 and STATA 9 on Windows. The student will be able to get his data into SAS and STATA, manipulate the data, run basic analyses, and interpret the output. This course will prepare the student with the technical skills necessary to complete subsequent quantitative course work such as EPID 7120, 7130, and 7220. Offered fall and spring semesters. Faculty: C. Chen. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 6240 MONITORING AND EVALUATION FOR HEALTH-RELATED SYSTEMS (3)
Prerequisite: EPID 6030.This course provides the student with the basic concepts and methodologies needed to undertake evaluation research. Major applications of evaluation research are covered: program planning, monitoring, and impact and efficiency assessment. Students will design an evaluation study based on intervention projects being undertaken by the school faculty, the Louisiana Office of Public Health, or projects of special interest to the students. Offered intermittently. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 6260 SURVEY METHODOLOGY (3)
Prerequisites: EPID 6030, BIOS 6030.This course is designed to prepare the student to undertake survey research addressing a wide variety of public health topics in national and international settings. Focus is on the collection of information from primary sources such as individuals or groups. Survey approaches include questionnaires for mail or group administration and personal interviews in institutional and household settings. Although attention is given to principles of overall research design, the major emphasis is on principles and techniques of data collection procedures including instrument design and preparation for analysis. Offered fall and spring semesters. Faculty: J. Gustat, X. Xiong. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 6290 GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY (3)
Prerequisites: EPID 6030, BIOS 6030. This course will present fundamental concepts and methods in genetic epidemiology. It will review basic terminology of genetics, introduce basic principles of population genetics, and provide an overview of various statistical methods, covering basic analyses, inferences, plus their strengths and limitations. Methods for assessing familial aggregation/correlation will be presented, and statistical techniques of modeling inheritance of complex phenotypes on family data will be covered. Both linkage and association analyses will be presented with emphasis on how these are used in genetic epidemiology. Different study designs commonly used in genetic epidemiology to identify the genetic basis of common, complex diseases will be explained. Offered fall semester. Faculty: H. Mei See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 6320 MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY (3)
Prerequisite: EPID 6030. This course addresses the theoretical and practical issues involved in conducting research involving molecular biomarkers in human disease. Molecular epidemiologic research studies the relationship between variations at the molecular genetic level and the early detection, etiology or prognosis of important chronic diseases (this course will put an emphasis on cancer). Class topics include: the theoretical advantages of biomarkers, criteria for evaluating potential markers, sample collection and storage, laboratory quality control considerations, issues in epidemiologic study design and analysis, ethical/legal concerns, and discussion of specific examples of research involving molecular markers of internal dose, susceptibility, early pathological alteration, and prognosis. This course also presents methods and statistical techniques for assessing familial aggregation/correlation, linkage and association analyses, haplotypes and gene association studies, with emphasis on how these are used in molecular epidemiology. Important pitfalls in current methods and newly emerging technologies (e.g., genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics) will also be discussed. Offered spring semester. Faculty: N. Makridakis See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 6330 CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, PREVENTION, AND HEALTH PROMOTION (2)
This course will feature multidisciplinary presentations in the field of cardiovascular epidemiology, cardiovascular disease, and risk factors. The focus will be the application of epidemiologic research to the development of cardiovascular prevention and intervention programs in areas such as nutrition, physical activity, psychosocial factors, and disease risk. Students will participate in an actual risk factor screening program. Offered intermittently. Faculty: G. Berenson. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 6420 CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY (3)
Prerequisites: EPID 6030, BIOS 6030. This course will help students learn or refine the skills of clinical epidemiology, defined as the study and management of illness in individuals as well as populations using population methods. Individual and group sessions will develop techniques of constructive critical appraisal of the medical literature, illustrated by examples from general health, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Students will learn how to assess studies of prognosis or outcomes of illness, treatments, diagnostic tests, and screening programs, as well as the basic requirements for randomized clinical trials. Offered summer semester. Faculty: L. Bazzano. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 6480 REPRODUCTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGY (3)
Prerequisites: BIOS6030, EPID6030. This course provides students analytical skills necessary to conduct epidemiological studies in reproductive health in human populations. Reproductive Epidemiology covers broad reproductive health issues from the pre-conception, prenatal, delivery and post-natal periods, and emphasizes health issues affecting both women and infants. Relevant methodological, clinical, policy and programmatic issues will be presented with practical illustrations from domestic and international settings. Students will be able to design a reproductive epidemiology study, discuss relevant methodological issues in reproductive health epidemiology studies, and apply reproductive/perinatal health data to improve reproductive programs and policy. Offered spring semester. Faculty: X. Xiong. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 6750 OUTBREAK EPIDEMIOLOGY(3)
Prerequisites: EPID 6030, BIOS 6030, statistical software package proficiency. This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills required for the investigation, control and prevention of disease outbreaks in a variety of settings and due to a variety of infectious agents. Students will explore and practice the approaches used to investigate disease outbreaks, and examine local and global efforts to monitor, control and mitigate the effects of infectious disease outbreaks. Offered fall semester. Faculty: S. Hassig. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 6950 EXPERIMENTAL CLINICAL RESEARCH (3)
Prerequisites: EPID 6030, BIOS 6030.This course addresses the principles of experimental (as distinct from observational) clinical (as distinct from basic) research from the point of view of the clinical investigator rather than the statistician. The syllabus is closely coordinated with that of BIOS 740 and emphasizes the qualitative issues in the conception, design, conduct and analysis of clinical experiments. Both courses are recommended for clinicians, epidemiologists and statisticians who are likely to be extensively involved in any aspect of randomized clinical trials. Offered intermittently. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 7000 EPIDEMIOLOGY SEMINAR (0-1) Offered fall and spring semesters. Faculty: J. He
EPID 7090 EPIDEMIOLOGY OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES (3)
Prerequisites: EPID 6030, BIOS 6030.This course provides students with the knowledge and skills required for the investigation, control, and prevention of a variety of infectious diseases. Students will explore the characteristics of a range of specific disease agents, compare their impact on populations, practice approaches used to investigate disease outbreaks, and examine local and global efforts to monitor, control, and/or eradicate selected infectious diseases. Zoonotic diseases are included in the course. Offered spring semester. Faculty: S. Hassig. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 7120 EPIDEMIOLOGIC METHODS II (3)
Prerequisite: EPID 6030, BIOS 6030 and EPID 6230.This is the first of the two-course sequence following EPID 603. It is designed for epidemiology majors and other students requiring a more thorough knowledge of the concepts and methods used in epidemiological research. This course stresses etiologic study designs and analytic methods. The sources, assessment, and control of error, confounding, and bias in etiologic research are discussed. Offered fall and spring semesters. Faculty: F. Rabito. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 7130 OBSERVATIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGY (3)
Prequisites: EPID 6030, EPID 6230, EPID 7120, BIOS 6030, and BIOS 6040. The goal of this course is to present the conceptual basis for the design, conduct, and analysis of cohort and case-control studies. The course will review the application of case-control and cohort studies in the context of epidemiological research and public health. Students will gain hands-on experience in designing an analyzing observational studies through classroom sessions and homework assignments. By the completion of the course, each student will have the skills to designing and develop data collection methods for cohort and case-control studies. Students will also have the fundamental skills to analyze data from case-control and cohort studies in preparation for publication. Offered fall and spring semesters. Faculty: E. Harville. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 7210 EPIDEMIOLOGY OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS/HIV (3)
Prerequisites: EPID 6030, BIOS 6030. This course is designed for students concentrating in epidemiology or biostatistics who are interested in methodologic issues of the epidemiology of AIDS. It encompasses clinical, behavioral, political, ethical, and methodological issues that are relevant to other diseases as well. Offered fall semester. Faculty: P. Kissinger. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 7310 META-ANALYSIS (3)
Prerequisites: EPID 6030, BIOS 6030, EPID 7120 (can be concurrent). Meta-analysis has been widely used in clinical medicine and public health in recent years. This course is designed to provide students with qualitative and quantitative skills to conduct meta-analysis. The course covers the formulation of study hypothesis, literature search, evaluation of study quality, and statistical methods for meta-analysis. In addition, the potential problems and biases in meta-analysis will be addressed. Students will be required to work as a group to conduct a meta-analysis project. Offered fall semester. Faculty: T. Kelly.See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 7410 PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY (2)
Prerequisite: EPID 6030, BIOS 6030, EPID 7120. This course provides a one-week, intensive introduction to the concepts and methods of pharmacoepidemiology. It begins with an overview of how epidemiology is applied to study the safety and effectiveness of drugs, medical devices, and vaccines in academia, industry, and regulatory agencies. Epidemiologic study designs, methodologies, and techniques for pharmacoepidemiologic research, including commonly used data sources, are discussed. Finally, methodological challenges encountered in pharmacoepidemiology and approaches for addressing these issues, are illustrated through case studies and computer laboratories. Offered summer semester even years. Faculty: R. Reynolds/N. Gatto. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 8000 DOCTORAL STUDENT JOURNAL CLUB (0)
EPID 8120 PRACTICAL MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND GENOMICS (2)
Prerequisite: EPID 8810 or permission from instructor. This course is designed as a continuation in the preparation of doctoral students for the study of human health in the post-genome era. The goal of this course is to provide a practical application of concepts taught in the Human Molecular Genetics course and other genetics/genomic courses by using software and databases for experimental design and analyses. The course will focus on teaching the practical molecular biology skills in research design and experimental analyses. Topics include plasmid design, designing transgenic animals, approaches to second generation sequencing, manipulation of designer proteins, analyses of genes, genome organization and introduction to bioinformatics. This course is imparted as computer-lab lectures, in which students will be required to complete assignments applying the material covered. Emphasis will be given to familiarize students with the latest technologies for studying human molecular genetics and genomics. The course is expected to help students develop the skills to perform independent research involving molecular biology and genomic approaches. Doctoral Student Status Required. Offered summer semester. Faculty: A. Engel. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 8220 ANALYTIC EPIDEMIOLOGY (3)
Prerequisites: EPID 7120, EPID 6230 and BIOS 6040. This course is designed to provide students with data analysis, interpretation, and presentation skills. During this course, the students will analyze data from several different studies with guidance from the professor. Students will then team up and analyze a dataset on their own, write a paper describing the findings, and present these findings in scientific format. The studies will examine different methodologic issues relevant to epidemiology. Doctoral Student Status Required. Offered intermittently. Faculty: P. Kissinger. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 8300 ADVANCED EPIDEMIOLOGIC METHODS (3)
Prerequisites: EPID 6030, EPID 7120, EPID 7130, BIOS 6030, BIOS 6040. This course is designed for doctoral students. The course focuses on the nature of causality in biological systems and the methods by which it may be determined. Both observational and experimental study designs are considered. The methods are illustrated by landmark studies from the epidemiologic literature. Most sessions involve student presentations of papers followed by general discussion. Doctoral Student Status Required. Offered intermittently. Faculty: J. He. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 8810 HUMAN MOLECULAR GENETICS (3)
Prerequisites: EPID 6030, BIOS 6030, MCBP 6070 or TRMD 6010 or ENHS 7860, or background in molecular biology, molecular genetics or genetic epidemiology. This course will begin with a basic understanding of DNA and RNA and their relation to protein production. This information will then be put into the perspective of chromosome structure, function and evolution. Methods for molecular analysis of genetic information and for identification of disease loci will be covered. This will then be put into a population perspective, relating genetic instability to genetic variation and the influence of this genetic variation to disease risk. Cancer will be used as the dominant example of disease-related questions, but others will also be incorporated. Finally, our understanding of the human genome and gene function will be used to understand the latest technologies for studying human molecular genetics and for developing novel therapeutic strategies. Doctoral Student Status Required. Offered spring semester. Faculty: A. Engel. See Course Learning Objectives.
EPID 7990 INDEPENDENT STUDY (1-5)
EPID 9970 DISSERTATION (0)
EPID 9980 MASTER'S THESIS (0)
EPID 9990 DISSERTATION RESEARCH (2)
SPHL 6880 EPIDEMIOLOGIC PERSPECTIVES ON NUTRITION AND CHRONIC DISEASE
This course will provide students the opportunity to explore the complex relationships between diet, obesity, and chronic disease outcomes, particularly cardiovascular disease and cancer. The emphasis of the course will be through case studies and through the shared experience of experts in various areas. The course will focus on the causal pathway from diet and inactivity to obesity to negative chronic outcomes with overnutrition being the pivotal mechanism to disease. Offered intermittently. Faculty: J. Gustat. See Course Learning Objectives.
