In brief: this little course is called "macroepidemiology" for lack of a sufficiently comprehensive term for its contents. It is offered for those students who accept the responsibility of self-education. They may benefit from the experience of carefully analyzing what is known about a common disease in the company of other students with shared interests and an instructor for whom such analyses are a self-required responsibility. They will benefit from analyses of widely-held but contested assumptions about genetic and environmental risk factors.
Complete text of Instructor's Perspective (PDF)
Readings
In lieu of a textbook, the class will read approximately 30 manuscripts from a larger set of recommended readings.
Data Analysis
Students will use compiled mortality data for two weekly assignments and the term paper. A Java®-based computer program, Cancer Fit, will be provided for this analysis.
Term Paper
Each student will choose a common disease such as a form of cancer, vascular disease or diabetes of interest to him or her, and produce a major analytical term paper with installments due every three weeks.
Grading
| activities | percentages |
|---|---|
| Term Paper | 60% |
| Oral Presentation | 15% |
| Class Participation, Including Problem Sets and Paper Installments | 25% |
There are no quizzes or exams.