Course information

Methods in Infectious Disease Epidemiology 

EPI 253 Spring 2021 (3 units)
Course Director: Ali Mirazadeh, PhD, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Epidemiology & Biostatistics

Course description:

This course will focus on the epidemiological methods used in infectious disease, and strategies for their control or elimination. The faculty-facilitated seminars will focus on key readings in the field and will be led by students. The course covers concepts and methods to assess transmissions, pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical control measures, and one health approach to fight health issues at the human-animal-environment interface, including zoonotic diseases.

Course Objectives:

At the end of the course students will be able to:

1. Identify key components of the epidemiology of infectious diseases, including epidemiological features of emerging infections, measures of transmission, and methods to control these diseases.
2. Analyze and apply information related to strategies for prevention and control of infectious diseases, including vaccines, pharmaceutical, and non-pharmaceutical interventions.
3. Identify epidemiologic methods used to evaluate public health intervention programs designed to control infectious diseases
4. Demonstrate specific knowledge on the human health connection to the health of animals and the shared environment.

 

Other related courses at UCSF:

There are other courses at UCSF that cover related topics on infectious disease epidemiology such as public health surveillance (GHS 202F). Students who interested in such specific topics are encouraged to sign up for those well.

Course units

Students have the option to take this course as three, or two credits. The 2-credit option [i.e., seminar course] would be for attending and participating in the seminar (including leading one or more seminar sessions, depending on how many students we get). The 3-credit option [i.e., a methods course] would entitle "analysis data of an infectious disease and writing a paper" or "develop an original epidemiological research protocol about an on-going debate or unresolved issue in infectious diseases".

Justification

The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted our lives, but also provided an opportunity to re-evaluate public health approaches, preparedness plans, and responses to infectious disease outbreaks. New methods to investigate infection clusters, measure and assess the impact of behavioral interventions and their motivators, and the need to better understand the interactions of infectious agents and their human/animal host, vectors and the shared environment, justify this new course focusing on methods in infectious disease epidemiology. It is not meant to be a review of infectious diseases or medical microbiology although we will examine public health interventions used in infectious disease control or elimination.

Is it the right course for you?

Students will need to have an understanding of basic epidemiological and statistical methods as covered in Epi203 (Epidemiologic Methods I) and Bio200 (Biostatistical Methods for Clinical Research I). Familiarity with an analysis software package is non-essential but encouraged in particular in those who choose “analysis data of an infectious disease” as their project.