Instructor(s):
Gerrard, Sonja; Marrs, Carl F; Yang, Zhenhua; Foxman, Betsy
Prerequisites: Perm. Instr.
Students do an independent microbiology research project under the supervision of a faculty member in the Hospital & Molecular Epidemiology program.
EPID509
Evolution, Behavior and Public Health
Winter
term(s)
3 Credit Hour(s)
Instructor(s):
Foxman, Betsy
This course will teach the core principles of evolutionary biology and the special challenges of applying them to problems in psychology and public health. The course will begin with the subset of core principles of evolutionary biology that have particular applications in psychology and public health. Some of the early classes will be divided into subsections so we can match teaching to the backgrounds of students from different areas. It will then survey the fast growing field of evolutionary medicine, what it offers to psychology and public health already, and new applications that are likely to be especially useful. Most of the detailed examples will be from infectious disease and evolutionary aspects of behavioral disorders and behaviors that influence disease susceptibility. The course will close by addressing the challenges of formulating and testing evolutionary hypotheses about why natural selection left our bodies vulnerable to diseases, emphasizing how new research questions emerge from an evolutionary perspective, and new methodologies for rigorously testing evolutionary hypotheses about disease. At the conclusion of the course, participants will understand how core principles of evolutionary biology have been and can be applied to public health problems, and they will have a moderately developed critical capacity for assessing research reports in the area.
EPID582
Molecular Epidemiology
Winter
term(s)
3 Credit Hour(s)
Instructor(s):
Foxman, Betsy
Prerequisites: EPID 503 or EPID 600; and EPID 515, or equiv
The rapid development in molecular techniques since the early 1980ﾒs has enhanced the ability of epidemiologists to define and measure both exposures and outcomes. In this course, we will explore the impact of these measures on the design, conduct and analysis of epidemiologic studies by examining successful and unsuccessful applications of these new measurement tools. We will also discuss the ethical issues arising from an enhanced ability to identify individuals with early stage of disease, increased susceptibility or to measure very low levels of exposure in the environment, and sensitize students to the potential conflicts in research ethics arising from collaborative research projects.
EPID788
Evolutionary Epidemiology
Summer
term(s)
1 Credit Hour(s)
Instructor(s):
Foxman, Betsy
Prerequisites: Permission of Instructor
New applications of evolutionary theory to medicine are growing and helping to explain apparent paradoxes, such as rapidly increasing rates of breast cancer, increased asthma vulnerability in certain populations and the metabolic syndrome (For details see The Evolution Network at http://evolutionandmedicine.org). Epidemiologists have begun to apply these principles and ask new questions, such as do genes that vary by latitude explain hypertension, and how might public health interventions for infectious disease be 'evolution-proofed' (see discussion of the American College of Epidemiology 2008 meeting: Dawn of Evolutionary Epidemiology (http://acepidemiology.org/meetings/2008Tuscon/08AMSpeakerHandouts.asp). This course will explore how epidemiologists and other public health workers can make use of these advances in their own work. Applying evolutionary theory can sharpen research questions, raise new possible explanations for observed phenomena and identify new types of exposure and outcome measures. Pre-requisite: No prior training in evolutionary biology is assumed.
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