Epidemiology and Biostatistics Programs:
“Statistical Methods in Environmental Epidemiology”
To be offered Spring 2011 as PMxxx
COURSE COORDINATOR: Duncan Thomas, Professor
CONTENT
The course aims to provide epidemiologists and statisticians with a broad overview of current statistical problems and approaches in environmental epidemiology. While the emphasis is on standard techniques, an important aim will be to raise awareness of important current research topics to interest Ph.D. students in pursuing this area. See below for a detailed list of topics to be covered.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
Most lectures will be given by Dr. Thomas, except for specialized topics to be given by other environmentally-oriented biostatisticians in the Department of Preventive Medicine. A portion of each class will be reserved for discussion of exercises, projects, and questions about previous lectures.
ASSESSMENT
Weekly homework assignments will be given to provide experience in applications of standard methods to real environmental epidemiology data. There will be one mid-term exam. In lieu of a final exam, students will be expected to prepare a term paper, either a review of the literature on a particular project, a detailed analysis of data on an agreed topic, or a research proposal in the form of a grant application. 25% of the final grade will be based on the term paper, 25% on the midterm exam, and the remainder distributed between the homework problems.
TEXTBOOKS
Thomas DC. Statistical Methods in Environmental Epidemiology. Oxford University Press, 2009.
Additional papers on specific topics will be assigned and discussed and other reference books recommended for further reading.
PREREQUISITES
PM511ab, PM512, PM518a and candidacy for the Ph.D. in epidemiology, biostatistics, statistical genetics and genetic epidemiology, or public health (i.e., must have passed the screening exam). Some of the prerequisite classes may be taken concurrently. This course is seen as a companion to PM529 Environmental Epidemiology, which is oriented more towards epidemiology students, and will go into greater depth in statistical methods. The two classes can be taken concurrently or in either order, for students interested in both. Open to other students with the consent of the instructor.
SCHEDULE
Times and locations TBA, 3 hours per week
A detailed syllabus follows.
ChapterTopic Week
- Introduction: ionizing radiation and air pollution epidemiology 1
- Basic epidemiologic study designs (descriptive and analytic) 2
- Basic statistics 2
- Logistic, Poisson, and Cox regression models 3
- Multi-stage and multi-level designs, counter-matching, etc. 3
- Modeling exposure-time-response relationships 4
- Longitudinal models 5
- Time series models 6
- Spatial models 7
- Ecologic inference 8
- Measurement error and exposure models 9
- Gene-environment interactions10
- Mechanistic models10
- Intervention studies and program evaluation11
- Probability of causation12
- Risk assessment12
- Other applications: disasters, pregnancy cohorts, family studies13