Master of Public Health
Jill SandersonThe M.P.H. curriculum in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases is designed to train students to understand the epidemiology of the major infectious agents, the diseases they cause, and the host response to those diseases. The interaction of the agent (parasite, bacterium, or virus) with the host and the influence of the environment are studied. The curriculum considers the role of immunological response, genetics, natural history of vectors, geographic distribution, and transmission and transport of agents.
Emphasis is placed on the application of epidemiologic concepts to intervention in transmission cycles and disease progression. Intervention may be accomplished through such measures as vaccination, antimicrobial therapy, vector control, or behavior modification. The student is encouraged to obtain a solid laboratory foundation for diagnosis, for population-based serologic surveys, and for understanding the molecular basis of disease processes and intervention strategies. Infectious disease problems and solutions in resource-poor countries are extensively considered.
MPH Competencies
Core Competencies
Upon completing the core curriculum of the MPH program, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a knowledge base in the disciplines of biostatistics, chronic and infectious disease epidemiology, health systems, public policy, social and behavioral sciences, and environmental health.
- Apply basic research skills to specific public health problems in both group and individual settings, including the ability to define problems; construct, articulate and test hypotheses; draw conclusions; and communicate findings to a variety of audiences.
- Explain the interrelationships between a multitude of factors that can impact on a public health problem, including scientific, medical, environmental, cultural, social, behavioral, economic, political, and ethical factors.
- Review, critique, and evaluate public health reports and research articles.
- Apply public health concepts, principles, and methodologies obtained through formal course work to actual problems experienced in the community or work environment.
- Critically evaluate programs, interventions, and outcomes that relate to public health practice.
- Apply ethical standards and professional values as they relate to the practice of public health.
- Demonstrate sensitivity to the social context within which public health professionals practice.
EMD Competencies
- Define the scope and worldwide impact of infectious diseases.
- Describe the processes that drive transmission and maintenance of infectious agents.
- Describe the epidemiology of the major infectious diseases worldwide as well as risk exposures and behaviors as these relate to transmission.
- Describe the host genetic and immunologic factors that affect transmission and disease progression.
- Describe pathogen-related determinants that contribute to transmission and disease.
- Explain the interrelationship between the environment and the emergence and maintenance of infectious diseases in populations.
- Describe and critically evaluate approaches for the prevention and control of infectious diseases and define the key issues to their effective use.
- Apply principles and concepts obtained through coursework to design and implement studies on the etiology, detection, prevention or control of infectious diseases in the laboratory and field.
- Define the ethical challenges in infectious disease research.
Curriculum
PDF Version
Download the PDF version of the MPH requirements.
Requirements | CORE REQUIREMENTS | Course
|
BIS 505a, Introduction to Statistical Thinking I | 1 | |
BIS 505b, Introduction to Statistical Thinking II | 1 | |
CDE/EMD 508a, Principles of Epidemiology I | 1 | |
EPH 100a, Professional Skills Seminar | n/a | |
EPH 515b, Introduction to Research and Professional Ethics | n/a | |
One of the following two: | ||
CDE 505a, Social and Behavioral Foundations of Health | 1 | |
CDE 571b, Psychosocial and Behavioral Epidemiology | 1 | |
One of the following two: | ||
EHS 510a, Contemporary Issues in Environmental Health | 1 | |
EHS 503b, Introduction to Toxicology | 1 | |
One of the following two: | ||
HPM 510a, Health Policy and Health Systems | 1 | |
HPM 560b, Healthcare Finance and Delivery | 1 | |
To fulfill the Public Health Practice requirement, choose one of the following three: | ||
CDE 542b, Community Health Program Planning | 1 | |
EPH 500b, Public Health Practicum | 1 | |
EPH 520c, Summer Internship (Approval Required) | n/a | |
EPH 520c, Summer Internship (required whether or not used to fulfill the Public Health Practice Requirement) | n/a | |
DEPARTMENTAL REQUIREMENTS | ||
EMD 512b, Immunology for Epidemiologists | 1 | |
EMD 518a, Principles of Infectious Diseases I | 1 | |
EMD 518b, Principles of Infectious Diseases II | 1 | |
EMD 525a and b, Seminar in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases | n/a | |
EPH 525, Thesis | 2 | |
One of the following two: | ||
CDE 516b, Principles of Epidemiology II | 1 | |
CDE 534b, Analytic Methods in Epidemiology | 1 | |
Choose at least three additional EMD courses in collaboration with your advisor |
Revised 7/23/12
EMD Electives 2012-2013
COURSE | OFFERED |
Hospital Epidemiology (EMD 530) | Every spring |
Investigation of Disease Outbreaks (EMD 536) | Every other spring (offered 2013) |
Observing Earth from Space (EMD 548/ARCG 762/F&ES 726/G&G 562) | Every spring |
Vector Biology (EMD 550) | Every spring |
Public Health Issues in HIV/AIDS (EMD 557) | Fall (not offered fall 2013, sabbatical leave) |
Ecoepidemiology (EMD572A/FES891) | Every fall |
Water, Infectious Diseases, and Global Health
| Fall 2012 |
Probabilistic Modeling in Ecology, Evolution & Disease (EMD595/EEB335) | Spring 2013 |
Public Health Surveillance (EMD 583) | Every spring |
Molecular and Cellular Processes of Parasitic Eukaryotes (EMD 680) | Every fall |
Global Aspects of Food and Nutrition (EMD 543) | Every fall |
Vaccines: Concepts in Biology (EMD 547b/MBIO 547) | Every spring |
2011 Internships
| LOCATION | ORGANIZATION | PROJECT |
| New Haven, CT | Yale New Haven Hospital - Department of Pediatrics Primary Care Center (PCC) Preemie Clinic | Literature review to identify gaps in knowledge of the research topic (Respiratory Syncytial Virus); assisting in development of the research protocol; submitting an HIC application for study approval; acquiring appropriate datasets; analyzing and interpretation. |
| Navrongo, Ghana | Navrongo Health Research Center & Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research | Identify malaria and anemia cases and controls from the Navrongo Health Research Center (NHRC) and Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) database that has a four year follow-up of epidemiological, demographic, morbidity and mortality dat |
| Ghana | Unite For Sight | Principal investigator of a study examining the economic outcomes of cataract surgery in villages in southern Ghana. |
| New Haven, CT | Yale University Department of Emerging Infections Program | Identification of changes in the distribution and burden of infectious and chronic diseases, evaluation of control measures, and identification of areas to target for intervention. |
| Colombia | Instituto Nacional de Salud (INS) | Perform a research project in collaboration with the dengue component of Integrated National Adaptation Pilot (INAP) Study for Climate Change of the Colombian INS. |
| Philadelphia, PA | University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine | Epidemiology and Prevention of MRSA Transmission in the Community |
| India | DMF India | Research and presentation of mental health needs data of MDR TB patients in DOTS-PLUS program to TB counselors in Hyderabad, India, and legislative officials in Mumbai, India. |
| Legon, Ghana | Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana | Conduct a case control study of 150 TB patients in Accra, Ghana, genetic factors that could increase susceptibility to TB |
| Ghana | Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research | Sketch an accurate cross-sectional overview and describe dietary and nutrient profiles of Ghanaian school-age children |
| New Haven, CT | Connecticut Emerging Infections Program | Assisting in Clostidium Difficile infection surveillance being conducted in seven EPI sites throughout the United States |
| New Haven, CT | Emerging Infections Program | HPV Vaccine Impact Monitoring Program Across Connecticut. |
| New Haven, CT | Yale Emerging Infections Program | Develop understanding of how hospitalized, laboratory-confirmed influenza cases are reported to county departments of public health and the Connecticut Department of Public Health as well as how Yale EIP, CTDPH, and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention |
| Ansonia and Wallingford, CT | Rhode Island Hospital | Conducting qualitative interviews in Ansonia and Wallingford on prescription opioid overdose deaths |
| Braunschweig, Germany | Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research | Analyzing in vitro and in vivo immune responses to cyclic dimeric adenosine monophosphate (c-di-AMP), to determine its potential as a mucosal vaccine adjuvant. |
| Kigali City, Kigali | University Teaching Hospital of Kigali | Create a study protocol with the aid of both preceptor and advisor in New Haven to examine the barriers that women experience which lower their ability to obtain antenatal care |
| New Haven, CT | Yale Global Health Leadership Institute | Improvement of Rwanda's skilled healthcare workforce, natable focusing on the implementation and evaluation plans for a strategy developed a year earlier |
| Ecuador | Fundación VIHDA | Comprehensive understanding of the regional barriers that exist to HIV testing |
| South Africa | Thembalitsha Foundation | Conducting a needs assessment will allow a thorough analysis of the demographics and health issues faced in the informal settlements of Grabouw |
| South Africa | University of Pretoria | Testing for HIV, CD4 counts and PCR which are all designated sites for the provision of antiretroviral treatment |
Recent thesis topics:
- HPV Vaccination Histories among Women Diagnosed with Precancerous Cervical Lesions: Disparities and Barriers
- Deterministic SEIR Model of Influenza and Year-round School
- Epidemiology of Hookworm Infection among School Aged Children in the Kintampo North District: An Evaluation of Nutritional Status, Albendazole Efficacy, and Implications for Future Control Efforts
- “They Go to Die” - a documentary video
- Characterization of Immune Responses to Ancylostoma Ceylanicum in a Rodent Model of Human hookworm Disease
- Urban Ecology of Rattus Norvegicus and Zoonotic Leptospirosis in Salvador, Brazil
Samples of Positions at Graduation: 2012, 2011, 2010
- Yale New Haven Hospital, Research Associate, New Haven, CT
- Alameda County Department of Public Health, Cal-EIS Fellow, Oakland, CA
- Health Services Advisory Group, Healthcare Analyst, Phoenix, AZ
- Yale School of Medicine, Research Assistant, New Haven, CT
- Population Reference Bureau, Policy Analyst, Washington, DC
- GlobalData, Epidemiologist, New York, NY
- Ochsner Clinic Foundation, Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, New York, NY
- Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Research Assistant, Philadelphia, PA
- Communicable Diseases of Singapore Government, Assistant Director, Singapore
- Humana, Analyst, Louisville, KY
