Modern Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Course Description: This course is to introduce students to the field and methodology for researching modern infectious disease epidemiology. The emphasis will be on the important need to take an interdisciplinary approach, combining different analytical methods, in the study of the transmission ecology and control of infectious diseases. Students will be introduced to a range of theoretical topics and modern applied analytical methods relevant to understanding and investigating the population biology, epidemiology, and control of diseases, ranging from disease transmission modeling to health burden estimation, geographic information systems and spatial ecology, host immunity and parasite genetics, bioinformatics, socio-epidemiology of infection, intervention modeling, meta-analysis, and health economics and management.
This course is offered in the fall only. It is open to graduate and upper-level undergraduate students.
Topics in Global Health
Course Description: Global health is concerned with both the interconnectedness and multidimensionality of health as well as with disparities in human diseases across the world. The burden of disease occurs unevenly between and within countries; tackling these differences requires a critical understanding of the multivariate and complex determinants of health that range from the genetic background of individuals and populations through exposure to different environments and pathogens, social conditions, economic development, ecosystem and climate change, health systems and governance, and individual beliefs, attitudes and behaviours.
This course is intended to introduce students to the field of global health by providing an overview of key issues in this nascent but increasingly important topic, and by equipping students with the framework, knowledge and skills needed to interpret and address these problems. On completion of the course, students would be expected to be self-directed, critical and highly original in tackling problems in global health, besides having the skills required to further extend their knowledge and understanding through research or professional practice in this field of public health.
This course is offered in the fall only. It is open to graduate and upper-level undergraduate students.