Using a topical approach, this course is designed to introduce students to the wide variety of disciplines associated with the field of Public Health. Based on the issue or issues selected as the focal point of the course, students will examine the global impact of disease from various points of view historically, biologically, economically, psychologically, and politically. Students will explore the roles of those in Public Health such as epidemiologists, health care managers, media broadcasters, health specialists, environmentalists, and public policy makers in maintaining the health safety of the public.

This course will cover the basic concepts of epidemiology and biostatistics as applied to public health problems, with emphasis on the principles and methods of epidemiologic investigation and appropriate summaries and displays of data. Topics include study design, measures of disease frequency and association, bias, confounding and effect modification, causality, screening and disease surveillance.

This course will examine the way in which the U.S. legal system has dealt with complex issues involving public health and scientific research. The course will introduce students to basic principles of law, the federal and state court systems, rules of evidence, class action certification, and the progress of a lawsuit. Seminal court decisions defining what constitutes scientific reliability will be analyzed, as well as court decisions involving matters as diverse as mandated health care, the ownership of body parts, legal liability for causes of cancers and autism, and copyrighting genomic sequences, plus others. Students will be challenged to analyze majority and dissenting opinions in significant court decisions, as well as opinions a

A study of the impact of environmental quality on the health of populations, this course addresses the societal and environmental factors that increase the likelihood of exposure and disease. Topics include the potential health effects of exposure to hazardous substances in air, water, soil, and food; natural disasters; physical hazards; climate change; the impact of food production on the environment; and the built environment.

Zika. Dengue. Ebola. Chikungunya all words that have become part of the mainstream vernacular in recent years. These infectious diseases and others contribute to a worldwide public health crisis. Globally, they are the cause of millions of deaths and chronic illness among children and adults, especially in developing countries. Infectious Disease Epidemiology IDE is a specific area of study within the field of Public Health that involves the study of the prevalence, incidence, and determinants of infections in populations. The goals of this new course are to use infectious disease epidemics as a model for understanding how the social determinants of health such as socioeconomic status, culture, traditions, education levels, employm