Cornell University Registrar

Mentored research apprenticeship program designed to give laboratory experience in applied epidemiology to qualified unmatriculated high school students (participating in Cornell Summer College) or Cornell underclassmen. Students are placed in a research laboratory with a designed project under the direct supervision of a research associate (upper-level graduate student, post-doc, or faculty member). Students are graded on preparation, participation in laboratory, academic life, and appropriate acquisition of techniques. At the end of the six-week session, they are expected to give a brief (15- to 20-minute) oral presentation on their work and submit a manuscript in a form suitable for publication. The faculty director of the laboratory has ultimate responsibility for evaluating each student's work and assigning the grade.

Course covers fundamental epidemiology concepts and methods in the investigation of determinants of health or disease in populations. Topics include causation, measures of disease frequency and association, sampling methods, selection and interpretation of diagnostic tests, type and characteristics of observational and controlled studies, and bias and confounding.

Design and interpretation of cross-sectional, case-control, and cohort studies (including controlled clinical trial). Design issues include sample size, bias, and relative advantages and disadvantages. Course objectives are to (1) know the difference between different epidemiologic study designs and relative advantages and disadvantages of each; (2) given a problem (usually a field situation), be able to design an appropriate epidemiologic study; (3) be able to effectively analyze and criticize published epidemiologic studies. Consists of lectures on the principles of epidemiologic study design and related issues (sample size calculations, validity and precision, and identification and minimizing of bias); basic analysis of epidemiologic data; and discussion of published epidemiologic studies. These include observational cohort studies (prospective and retrospective), crosssectional studies, case-control studies, and hybrid studies (ambidirectional and other hybrid designs).

Concepts introduced in VTPMD 6640 and VTPMD 6650 are further developed, with emphasis on statistical methods. Topics include interaction, effect modification, stratified analysis, matching and multivariate (logistic regression) methods, survival analysis, repeated measures, and strategies for the analysis of epidemiologic data.

The goal of this team-taught course is to introduce students to novel methods in the investigation of epidemiologic concepts and determinants of health or disease in populations. The course will be comprised of short modules, each lasting 2-3 weeks, on cutting edge methods utilized in different epidemiology disciplines, such as: molecular epidemiology, mathematical modeling, economics, risk assessment, artificial intelligence, machine learning, diagnostic epidemiology, clinical trials, spatial epidemiology, and social sciences.

Discusses advanced theoretical and analytical epidemiologic concepts and techniques.

Enables students outside the section of epidemiology to receive graduate research credits for projects with epidemiological components.

The purpose of this course is to investigate an epidemiologic topic with one of the instructors. It provides experience in problem definition, research design, and the analysis of epidemiologic data.