Date:08/??/2014

To:Robert Goldstein, Associate Provost

From:J. Jackson Barnette, Associate Dean

Subject:Proposal to add PHEP-622 “Population Pathology”

The above-named course is proposed to be added, to be effective Spring 2015.

The course is required in the MS in Epidemiology and the PhD in Public Health Sciences with Specialization in Epidemiology. This course replaces PHEP-619 “Biology of Disease in Populations”. It may be taken as an elective by students in the MPH program.

The proposed changes in the curricula for the MS in Epidemiology and the PhD in Public Health Sciences with Specialization in Epidemiology are submitted simultaneously.

The proposed syllabus has been approved by the MPH Program, Curriculum Committee, Faculty Forum, and the dean’s office.

Attachments:

  • Proposed CIF
  • Proposed syllabus

Population PathologyPHEP-622

Course Data

Number:PHEP-622

Title:Population Pathology

Credit-hours:3

Department:Epidemiology and Population Health

School/College:School of Public Health and Information Sciences

Type:Lecture

Catalog Description

This course introduces students to the physiologic measures and biomarkers that are used by public health researchers and practitioners to assess the health status of populations.

Course Description

This course introduces students to the physiologic measures and biomarkers that are used by public health researchers and practitioners to assess the health status of populations.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this class, students are able to:

  • Identify basic physiologic measures and biomarkers pertaining to the respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, excretory, and reproductive systems.
  • Define homeostasis & allostasis.
  • Distinguish between homeostasis and allostasis.
  • Describe how DNA is replicated, transcribed, and translated into amino acid sequences, and how proteins are synthesized.
  • Distinguish between macronutrients and micronutrients.
  • Explain how macronutrients are digested and how micronutrients facilitate biochemical reactions.
  • Distinguish between innate immunity and the adaptive immune response.
  • Describe the inflammatory response to injury and the immune response to major pathogens.
  • Identify specific data sources that may be utilized to assess the health status of populations (e.g., the National Health & Nutrition Examination Surveys for the United States or the Demographic & Health Surveys for other countries).

Prerequisites

SPHIS student or consent of instructor

Course Instructors

Name / Office / Phone / Email
Frank D. Groves, M.D., M.P.H., Course Director / SPHIS-223 / 852-3287 /

The course instructors welcome conversations with students outside of class. Students may correspond with instructors by email or set up appointments by contacting Dr. Groves at 852-3287 or . Students should also contact Dr. Groves with questions they might have regarding the mechanics or operation of the course.

Course Topics and Schedule

IMPORTANT NOTE: The schedule and topics may change as the course unfolds. Changes are posted on Blackboard.

Class / Chapter(s) / Topic(s)
1 / 10 / Nutrition
2 / 28 / Digestion
3 / 28, 30 / Metabolism & the Liver
4 / 09 / Endocrine Regulation of Glucose Homeostasis
5 / 10 / Over-nutrition, Obesity, & Metabolic Syndrome
6 / 33 / Diabetes Mellitus
7 / 08, 11, 13 / Blood Cells, Plasma, & Serum
8 / 24 / Kidney Function
9 / 32, 34 / Allostasis & the Autonomic Nervous System
10 / 17,18 / Blood Pressure & Hypertension
11 / 19 / Atherosclerosis & Stroke
12 / 44 / Sarcopenia, Osteopenia, & Osteoporosis
13 / 37 / Alzheimer’s Dementia
14 / MIDTERM EXAM
15 / 39, 40 / Fertility, Gestation, & Childbirth
16 / 05, 06 / Genetics (Dr. Richard Kerber)
17 / 07 / Carcinogenesis - I
18 / 07 / Carcinogenesis - II
19 / 07 / Carcinogen Identification
20 / 15 / Innate Immunity & Acute Inflammation
21 / 16 / Chronic Inflammation & Adaptive Immunity
22 / 21, 23 / Lung Function & Chronic Lung Disease
23 / 22 / Airborne Pathogens
24 / 41 / Contact Pathogens
25 / 29 / Food-borne & Waterborne Pathogens
26 / 30 / Blood-borne Pathogens
27 / 41 / Vector-borne Pathogens
28 / Review Session
Reading Day / READING DAY (NO CLASS)
Final Exam / FINAL EXAM
Term Paper / TERM PAPERS DUE

In general, nutrition and the diseases resulting from under-nutrition & over-nutrition (i.e., “too little or too much of a good thing”) are covered in the first half of the semester, before the midterm. After the midterm, the diseases caused by physical, chemical, and biological agents (i.e., “bad things” in the environment) are covered. The term paper consists of a summary of the latest epidemiologic and relevant biomedical literature pertaining to a screening test (e.g., laboratory testing for diabetes, prostate-specific antigen, HIV, hepatitis, syphilis, tuberculosis) or technology (e.g., mammography, colonoscopy, ultrasound, X-ray, bioelectrical impedance).

Course Materials

Blackboard

The primary mechanism for communication in this course, other than class meetings, is UofL’s Blackboard system at or Instructors use Blackboard to make assignments, provide materials, communicate changes or additions to the course materials or course schedule, and to communicate with students other aspects of the course. It is imperative that students familiarize themselves with Blackboard, check Blackboard frequently for possible announcements, and make sure that their e-mail account in Blackboard is correct, active, and checked frequently.

Required Texts

Essentials of Pathophysiology by Carol Mattson Porth. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health / Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins, 2011. 1256 pp. [ISBN-13: 978-1-58255-724-3]

Other Required Reading

None.

Additional Suggested Reading

None.

Prepared Materials Used by Instructors

Materials used by instructors in class are available to students via Blackboard no later than 24 hours following the class. These may include outlines, citations, slide presentations, and other materials. There is no assurance that the materials include everything discussed in the class.

Course Policies

Attendance and Class Participation

Class participation is expected, although no class roll is be taken. Students are expected to complete background readings for each class session and class-specific assignments.

Student Evaluation

The components of student evaluation are:

1.Midterm Exam: a regular (90-minute) class period is allotted; 40% essay and 60% multiple-choice questions.

2.Final Exam: to be taken after the end of the didactic instruction period, during the final exam week; the equivalent of a regular 90-minute class period is allotted; 40% essay and 60% multiple-choice questions.

3.Term Paper.

Grading

The components of student evaluation are weighted as follows:

Midterm Exam 35%

Final Exam35%

Term Paper30%

Grading is on A/B/C/F basis.

Final Grade / Final Percent
A / 90.0-100.0
B / 80.0-89.9
C / 70.0-79.9
F / <70.0

Term Paper

Scope: Choose a topic from the website of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPTF): and summarize the latest epidemiologic and relevant biomedical literature pertaining to a screening test (e.g., laboratory testing for diabetes, prostate-specific antigen, HIV, hepatitis, syphilis, tuberculosis) or technology (e.g., mammography, colonoscopy, ultrasound, X-ray, bioelectrical impedance). (Note that not every method of screening involves technology – for example, clinical breast examination or visual inspection of the skin to check for melanoma – but, for the purposes of this assignment, you should review the literature pertaining to a technological approach to screening that involves a laboratory test, a medical device, or a diagnostic instrument.)

Format: Minimum ten (10) primary-source references (peer-reviewed articles from journals that are indexed by PubMed)

.Suggested Outline:

  1. Introduction
  2. Descriptive Epidemiology
  3. Etiology
  4. Mechanisms (Pathophysiology)
  5. Prevention & Screening Technology
  6. Future Research

Grading Criteria:

  • Quality of writing (spelling, grammar, organization)
  • Appropriate citation and interpretation of published literature
  • Critical thinking in review of published literature (consistency, plausibility, gaps)
  • Completeness of descriptive epidemiology
  • Integration of epidemiology and etiology with mechanisms
  • Plausible preventive interventions and future research directions

PHEP 622: POPULATION PATHOLOGY
DATA
SOURCE / Evaluation Rubric for Term Paper (about screening technology) / SUB- Score
Exceptional (10) / Acceptable (6) / Marginal (2) / Unacceptable (0)
Number of articles cited / Ten or more articles,
all correctly cited / 6-9 articles
correctly cited / 4 or 5 articles
correctly cited / <4 articles
correctly cited / 10
Sensitivity & specificity analysis / Clear discussion
of sensitivity & specificity, along
with predictive
values of positive
& negative tests / Clear discussion
of sensitivity & specificity; no
mention of predictive
values of positive
& negative tests / Narrow focus
on sensitivity
or specificity,
but not both / No mention
of sensitivity
or specificity / 10
Back-ground infor-mation / Thorough discussion of disease prevalence and etiologic mechanisms / Thorough discussion
of disease mechanism; no mention
of prevalence / Thorough discussion of disease prevalence;
no mention of mechanism / No mention of
disease mechanism
nor prevalence / 10
Gross points for each project (sum of subscores in rightmost column)∑= / 30

Other Policies

Expected Student Effort Out of Class

Students are expected to spend an average at least 2-1/2 hours per week per credit hour on the course exclusive of class time. This time includes but is not limited to reading, research, preparations for class, team or group meetings (electronic or otherwise), and course deliverables.

Syllabus Revision

The course director reserves the right to modify any portion of this syllabus. A best effort is made to provide an opportunity for students to comment on a proposed change before the change takes place.

Inclement Weather

This course adheres to the University’s policy and decisions regarding cancellation or delayed class schedules. Adjustments are made to the class schedule as necessary to take into account any delays or cancellations of this class. Local television and radio stations broadcast University delays or closings. The UofL web site ( and telephone information line (502-852-5555) also broadcast delays or closings.

Grievances

A student who has grievances regarding the course should seek to have the matter resolved through informal discussion and through administrative channels, such as the course director, chair of the course’s department, associate dean for student affairs, and university grievance officer. If the issue remains unresolved, the student may file a formal grievance. More information is located at Summary of SPHIS Student Academic Grievance Procedure in Student Academic Grievance Committee (

Disabilities

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, students with bona fide disabilities are afforded reasonable accommodation. The DisabilityResourceCenter certifies a disability and advises faculty members of reasonable accommodations. More information is located at

Academic Honesty

Students are required to comply with the academic honesty policies of the university and School of Public Health and Information Sciences. These policies prohibit plagiarism, cheating, and other violations of academic honesty. More information is located at

Course instructors use a range of strategies (including plagiarism-prevention software provided by the university) to compare student works with private and public information resources in order to identify possible plagiarism and academic dishonesty. Comparisons of student works require students to submit electronic copies of their final works to the plagiarism-prevention service. The service delivers the works to instructors along with originality reports detailing the presence or lack of possible problems. The service retains copies of final works and may request students’ permission to share copies with other universities for the sole and limited purpose of plagiarism prevention and detection.

In addition instructors provide the opportunity for students to submit preliminary drafts of their works to the service to receive reports of possible problems. Such reports are available only to the submitting student. Copies of preliminary drafts are not retained by the service.

Continuity of Instruction Plan

A plan for continuity of instruction for this course has been developed and published. All plans are available at Continuity of instruction plans provide guidance for how instruction may be modified to lessen disruption by events that affect transportation, communication, or personal interaction. Such events may be weather-related (e.g., floods, blizzards, tornados), health-related (e.g., epidemics), or other widespread occurrences or threats.

Additional Policy Information

Additional policy information is available in the following:

SPHIS Catalog (

SPHIS Policies and Procedures (

UofL Graduate Catalog (

v20140703

Course Data
Number & Title / PHEP-622 Population Pathology
Department / Epidemiology and Population Health
Unit / School of Public Health and Information Sciences
Version / v2014.07.03
Course History
Version / Submitted / Approved / Change Summary / Author(s)
v2014.07.03 / pending / pending /
  • Initial version
/ Groves

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