April 2015 - The Epidemiology Monitor

In This Issue

Special Issue 2015 Epidemiology Summer Programs Is there a new skill you would like to learn which is not available in your area?

Would you like to understand a new topic but have not found the time to do so?

This month’s issue of The Epidemiology Monitor is devoted to providing an overview of summer programs in epidemiology. Such programs contain courses in various formats offered over a defined time period and are relevant for both experienced as well as early career epidemiologists or students.

The main purpose of these programs is to make educational and training opportunities more accessible and flexible than regular school-year courses. We have identified 6 such epidemiology programs for 2015, four in the US sponsored by universities and 2 in Italy conducted in collaboration with private and public sector groups.

In this issue, the information for each is presented in a standardized way to make it easy and quick to grasp the main offerings of each program. Each description is followed by editor’s comments about each program. Some of these programs have approximately 50 different offerings ranging from one day to one month courses covering dozens of different topics. The programs are: US Programs Columbia Univ

Dates Mostly in June

Johns Hopkins Univ

Mostly in June

Programs in Italy Assoc for Information and Training in Biostatistics and Epidemiology (BiostatEpi)

Dates All in June

European Educational Program in Epidemiology (EEPI)

June and July

All in June

-4Johns Hopkins -6Univ. Michigan -8Ohio State -10BiostatEpi -12EEPE -14Marketplace

April 2015 Volume Thirty Six

Univ of Michigan All in July Ohio State Univ

-2Columbia

Number Four

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Columbia University USA—New York City “Cutting Edge Content In Multiple Formats In An Urban Environment” -EM Editor

Full Title

Epidemiology and Population Health Summer Institute at Columbia University Sponsor(s) Columbia University Location New York City Program year 5th Types & Dates  One Week Courses, Mornings, N=15, June 1-5, 8-12, of Courses 15-19, and 22-26  One Week Courses, Afternoons, N=12, (Same dates as above)  One Month courses, Online, Full-length, N= 9  Workshops, Online, Short duration, N=3  One Day Saturday Workshops, N= 11, On campus Total Number N= 51 of Courses & Offerings Language English Number of 44--Most are Columbia faculty or affiliated with Columbia Faculty Target Not specified audience Cost Classroom and digital courses, $750 Saturday workshops Deadline for No application required registration Registration must be completed by May 1 Limit on Open until courses are filled participants Course Ryan Demmer and Gina Schellenbaum Lovasi Director(s) Contact cuepisummer@columbia.edu Information www.episummer.org Editor’s Comments

Contact Us The Epidemiology Monitor 33 Indigo Plantation Rd, Okatie, SC, 29909 USA 678.361.5170 / Phone call or email for Fax# office@epiMonitor.net

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The program at Columbia is the newest summer program entering its fifth year in 2015. Growth has been rapid as the program now offers a total of 51 learning opportunities, a number larger than those at the more established programs.

Also, the 500-600 participants make this the largest attended program.

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Editor’s Comments - Continued from page 2

Organizers have sought not to allow the quick growth to undermine the quality of the program, according to Gina Schellenbaum Lovasi, a co-director of the program. The program is among the earliest starting with the first course kicking off on June 1. Courses usually enroll 10-30 persons each.

Asked about new courses and hot topics, co-director Ryan Demmer pointed to courses being offered on Systems Science and Population Health, Spatial Analysis in Epidemiology, Agent-Based Models of Population Health, Natural Language Processing: Applications in Epidemiology, Machine Learning, and Social Network Analysis. Also, several courses will be given related to Comparative Effectiveness Research.

The Columbia program received an R-25 grant from the National Institutes of Health which allows it to give scholarships to students interested in different areas highlighted by the program. The deadline has passed for applicants for 2015, however, the grant is for a 5-year period and will be available next year.

Applicants are judged on how the requested training would fill a need they have and how “geared-up” or well-prepared the applicants are “to move forward” with the specified training, according to Lovasi.

Another hot topic area is big data (having a large sample size), or intense data (having a lot of observations on single individuals). A course focused on the Microbiome and a course on Machine Learning are examples of the program’s effort in these hot topic areas.

The Columbia program has sought to be responsive to the needs of its participants. Some topics were recognized as not truly requiring a week-long course and 1-day workshops have been created so as not to take more time than needed.

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The Johns Hopkins University USA—Baltimore “Rigorous, Practice-Oriented Content In Accessible Formats From Top-Rated School of Public Health” -EM Editor

Full Title Sponsors Location Years in Place Types & Dates of Offerings

Total Number of Offerings Language Number of Faculty Target audience Cost

Deadline for registration Limit on participants Course Director(s) Contact Information

Editor’s Comments

Graduate Summer Institute of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore, Maryland 33rd  One-week morning or afternoon courses, N= 37  Two-week courses, N=2  Three week course, N=1  Online courses, N=5,  Workshops, N=4 49 English 45 Most are from Hopkins Health care professionals, public health and primary health care practitioners, physicians in training, and students.

For academic credit, $1020 per credit For non-academic credit, $510 per credit except for data analysis workshops which are more expensive June 12 or before classes begin No application is required, merely registration No limits, space permitting Moyses Szklo Ayesha Khan, akhan6@jhu.edu, 410-955-7158 http://www.jhsph.edu/departments/epidemiology/continuingeducation/graduate-summer-institute-of-epidemiology-and-biostatistics/ The summer program at Johns Hopkins is the second oldest summer program and the second largest drawing approximately 450-500 participants each year. It offers essentially the same number of courses (~50) as Columbia, making them the two largest programs in terms of the variety of courses and learning opportunities. Both use primarily if not exclusively their own faculty.

The program at Hopkins has a focus on epidemiology practice and public health. This is evidenced by courses in a “Professional Epidemiologic Methods” track which includes courses on surveillance, health situation analysis, and epidemiologic intelligence.

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Hopkins has just launched a Certificate Program in Epidemiology for Public Health Professionals and the summer program is an opportunity certificate - Continues for on next page seekers to fulfill required courses for the certificate. Other practice-oriented offerings include Epidemiology in Evidence-Based Policy, Global Cancer

Editor’s Comments - Continued from page 4

Hopkins has just launched a Certificate Program in Epidemiology for Public Health Professionals and the summer program is an opportunity for certificate seekers to fulfill required courses for the certificate. Other practiceoriented offerings include Epidemiology in Evidence-Based Policy, Global Cancer Epidemiology, Epidemiology and Prevention of Obesity, and Investigation of Outbreaks.

The most subscribed course continues to be Principles of Epidemiology which attracts degree candidates, part-time students, and persons thinking about starting a career in epidemiology, according Ayesha Khan, program coordinator.

New courses this year include online courses on the Principles of Genetic Epidemiology, the first of which begins on May 26, the earliest start date of any summer program offering. The Hopkins online courses are not “on demand� such as the courses offered by Coursera but are cohort-based and a group begins and ends the course together. Live communication and interaction are built-in as the course progresses and students meet at set times via computer.

As with several of the other programs, the Hopkins program has evolved over the years as it tries to be responsive to the time constraints that many persons have. A wide-variety of formats are offered to make the learning as flexible and accessible as possible, according to Khan.

33rd Graduate Summer Institute of Epidemiology and Biostatistics

June 15 - July 3, 2015

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University of Michigan USA—Ann Arbor, Michigan “Longest Established Program Delivered in an ‘Electric ’Learning Atmosphere”

Full Title Sponsor(s) Location Years in Place Types & Dates of Offerings

Number of Offerings Language Number of Faculty Target audience Cost

Deadline for registration Limit on participants Course Director Contact Info

Editor’s Comments

-EM Editor

50th Anniversary Graduate Summer Session in Epidemiology University of Michigan Ann Arbor 50th  1 week morning courses, N= 15, July 13-17, 20-24, and 27-31  1 week afternoon courses, N= 14, Dates same as above  3 week courses, N= 2, July 13-31  3 week distance learning courses, N=2, July 13-31, logged in live to Ann Arbor  Distinguished Lectures, N= 2  Panel discussion, N=1 36 Faculty with reputations in their subject areas are recruited from numerous outside academic centers and other organizations English & Spanish 29 + 6 invited speakers Not specified Not for credit, One 3 week course, $950 Not for credit, Two 3 week courses, $1375 Not for credit, One 1 week course, $525 For credit, per credit hour, $1530 (e.g., a 1 week course) For credit, per credit hour, $4,228 (e.g., a 3 week course) June 1 for application ($50) June 15th for tuition payment Only if courses are filled Hal Morgenstern umichgss@umich.edu, URL www.summerepi.org, Jody Gray , Program Administrator 734-764-5454 http://www.sph.umich.edu/gss/ The summer program which started at the University of Minnesota in 1965 and moved successfully to the University of Michigan in 1988 will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2015. In addition to being the longest running program, the Michigan program is the third largest in terms of the number of learning opportunities.

It takes place exclusively in July and in conjunction with the annual Ann Arbor Art Fair which draws many visitors. There is a national and international faculty that likes to return each year. According to Jody Gray, the

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Editor’s Comments -Continued from page 6

program administrator, intellectual, social, and cultural opportunities combine each summer at Michigan to create an “electric atmosphere” which some participants call the “opportunity of a lifetime”.

The Michigan program offers a wide variety of learning opportunities. In 2015, new courses include those on Bayesian Perspectives in Epidemiology, Qualitative Methods for Epidemiologists, Spatial Statistics for Epidemiologic Data, and Data Analysis Using R. Among the always well-enrolled courses are those about clinical trials. The program offers 3 one-week courses which can be taken in series to cover the principles, conduct, design, and analysis of trials and trial data. Other courses on the “methods side of things” are popular, according to Gray.

Michigan has a certificate program in epidemiology which can only be completed through the summer program. It requires at least two summers to complete 12 credits.

As the longest-running, the Michigan program knows what it takes to make a summer program work according to Gray, and these lessons are used to design the program for the benefit of students and faculty. As with the other US programs, a large percentage of the attendees are from the local area. However, the Michigan program does attract a large fraction of international students (~25%.)

To celebrate its 50th anniversary this summer, the Michigan program will offer opening and closing lectures by Roberta Ness and Jonathan Samet respectively, as well as a panel discussion led by David Schottenfeld and other panelists Ana Diez Roux, Frank Hu, and Michael Thun. Plans are to record these presentations and make them available at a later date.

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Ohio State University USA—Columbus, Ohio “Statistics and Epidemiology Blended with a Focus on High Quality Public Health Practice”

-EM Editor

Full Title Sponsor(s) Location Years in Place Types & Dates of Offerings

2015 Summer Program in Population Health Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 16th 1 week morning courses, N= 5, June 22-26 1 week afternoon courses, N= 5, June 22-26 2 day course, N= 1, June 22-23 3 day courses, N= 2, June 22-24, June 24-26 3 day pre-event workshops, N= 2, June 17-19

Number of Offerings Language Number of Faculty Target audience

15

Cost

Deadline for registration Limit on participants Course Director Contact Info

Editor’s Comments

English 17 Public health practitioners, medical professionals, local and state government employees, community organization workers, academic students, and researchers. $700 for the weeklong and three-day courses $525 for the two day courses $700 for the three day pre-event workshops June 8 (late fee afterwards) $80 registration fee Not specified Michael Bisesi Meredith Cameron mcameron@cph.osu.edu, 614-292-2942 Erin Strawser estrawser@cph.osu.edu http://cph.osu.edu/practice/summer-program The summer program at Ohio State University will be in its 16th year in 2015.

The program was initially located in the Center for Biostatistics and had a statistical focus. The program evolved to take on a greater public health focus and is now located in the Center for Public Health Practice. Offerings include courses in all three subject areas---statistics, epidemiology, and public health practice.

The program attracts approximately 150 participants and is the smallest of the

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Editor’s Comments -Continued from page 8

four in the United States and takes place over a short time period of just over two weeks in June. The program offers a total of 15 courses and workshops.

The program at Ohio has been influenced by recent efforts to promote accreditation in public health departments. For example, two new courses on Continuous Quality Improvement and Performance Measurement are being offered in 2015 for persons working toward accreditation. In addition, a course on the epidemiology of maternal and infant health for state and local practitioners was recently added as well as others focused on specific topics. As with other US programs, the largest share of students in the program are “local”, that is, coming from the state of Ohio.

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BiostatEpi Europe—Trevino Area, Northeast Italy “Statistical Methods Focus Presented in a Medieval Castle”

-EM Editor

Full Title

Summer School on Modern Methods in Biostatistics and Epidemiology

Sponsor(s)

BiostatEpi—Association for Information and Training in Biostatistics and Epidemiology Sponsored in part by Stata Conducted in collaboration with Bocconi University Brandolini Colomban Castle in Cison di Valmarino, 40 km north of Treviso in Northeast Italy 17

Location Years in Place

 

Types & Dates of Offerings

1 week courses, in two sessions, June 8-13, and June 15-20 Day-long Stata courses, June 7 and June 14

Number of Offerings

18

Language Number of Faculty

English 15---An international faculty from American and European academic and research centers Clinicians, public health professionals, researchers, and students in biostatistics and epidemiology 1 course for 1 week, 1550 Euros 2 courses over 2 weeks, 2800 Euros 1 day long Stata course, 400 Euros or 250 if registered in regular program May 31

Target audience Cost

Deadline for registration Limit on participants Course Director(s) Contact Info

Editor’s Comments

30 per class Rino Bellocco, Cell 39 349 391 5523 Marco Bonetti, Cell 39 347 924 0424 Bioepiedu@ki.se Suvi Virtanen, Karolinska Institutet http://www.biostatepi.org/ The summer program held near Treviso in northeast Italy stands out for its focus on statistics and methods courses and for its venue---one of the largest and oldest castles in Europe which has been converted into a hotel with meeting, sporting, recreational and well-being facilities.

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Editor’s Comments

The program is small in terms of the number of courses offered and number of faculty participating. It is sponsored in part by Stata and offers extra Stata -Continued from page 10 courses on Sundays which are not part of the regular program.

According to Internet sources, the castle was originally built in the Roman era as a defensive fortress in order to protect the important lines of communication which connected northern Italy to the countries on the other side of the Alps.

Many ancient and interesting artifacts have been uncovered here, including Roman baths, an almost 10 foot ancient bread oven, and aqueduct pipes from Roman times. To learn more about the castle, visit http://www.hotelcastelbrando.com/en

Summer School on Modern Methods in Biostatistics and Epidemiology June 7 - June 20, 2015 Cison di Valmarino - Treviso - ITALY Castello Brandolini Colomban

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European Educational Programme in Epidemiology (EEPE) Europe—Florence, Italy “Fundamentals of Epidemiology and More in Beautiful Tuscany” -EM Editor

Full Title Sponsor(s)

Location Years in Place Types & Dates of Offerings Number of Offerings Language Number of Faculty Target audience Cost

European Educational Programme in Epidemiology Residential Summer Course In Epidemiology International Epidemiological Association World Health Organization, Centre for Environment and Health Italian Association of Epidemiology Multiple European Universities Florence, Italy Studium Centre, on the hills of Florence 28th year  3 Week course with 2 modules in the first week, 3 in the second, and 7 special modules covering specific topics in week 3, June 22-July 10  Evening Distinguished Lectures 1 Course, 12 modules 3 Evening Lectures English 23--- The faculty for this program come from several universities and research centers located all over Europe.

Epidemiologists, statisticians, clinicians, public health practitioners, and PhD Students 3,300 Euros for all materials and room and board (to be paid within one month after registration) 200 Euros registration fee at the outset

Deadline for End of May registration Limit on participants 70---A limitation of the program’s venue is that it can only accommodate this relatively small number of participants. It may have filled quickly before the end registration date. Contact organizers to learn if positions are still available.

Course Director Manolis Kogevinas Centre for Research on Environmental Epidemiology, Barcelona Contact Info Mrs. Maria del Mar Ferrer eepe@eepe.org http://www.eepe.org/ Editor's Comments

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The European summer program in epidemiology enters its 28th session in 2015 and is one of the oldest programs to offer summer learning opportunities as one course in a beautiful setting. It takes place at a special venue in a large park on - Continues on next page

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the hills outside Florence only 20 minutes away from center city by public transportation.

The program in Florence has retained the original three week format initiated years ago. The program concept is to combine a solid basic coverage of the methodological fundamentals of epidemiology and statistics in the first two weeks with a view to new topic areas in the third week, and even within these new areas, the emphasis being placed on methodological aspects.

The third week is structured in modules which occupy either four mornings (total sixteen hours) or two (eight hours) or four (sixteen hours) afternoons.

Two sixteen hour modules are devoted to 'classical/traditional topics' , i.e., environmental and clinical epidemiology, both strongly centered on methodological aspects. A statistical module introduces 'advanced statistical topics', while another does the same for key epidemiological concepts, largely adopting an historical perspective. Fertility and pregnancy is a further module. Two novelties are the two eight hour modules on 'hot' topics : causal mediation analysis and personalized and global health.

According to former course director Rodolfo Saracci, the (relatively) small audience, face-to-face character of the Florence course is a special asset. The third week (hence the whole course) presents as a dynamically evolving program, he adds, and the fee of 3500 euros inclusive of three weeks full board and lodging (in a beautiful place) in Florence, course materials etc. probably makes EEPE the 'best buy' among summer schools.

The program has a new director, Manolis Kogevinas, who has been a highly regarded teacher for 20 years at the program, and he is expected to make changes as the program moves forward.

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NIH/NIEHS Epidemiology Postdoctoral Fellowships The NIH/NIEHS Epidemiology Branch is seeking talented motivated individuals with doctoral degrees and epidemiology training and experience to participate in ongoing research programs. Several large multi-outcome cohort studies, and a large Repository of biological and environmental samples from completed and ongoing studies offer opportunities for a wide range of add-on studies and analyses: http://tinyurl.com/p7negpw The NIEHS is located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and Duke University, with opportunities for interactions and collaborations. Salary and benefits are highly competitive; commensurate with experience and accomplishments. Initial appointments are 2 years with additional years possible depending on productivity and availability of funds.

Submit the following to epifellowships@niehs.nih.gov: • Letter describing areas of research interest • Curriculum vitae with bibliography • Copies of 1-2 recent publications • Contact information for 3 individuals serving as references The NIH is dedicated to building a diverse community in its training and employment programs.

PROFESSOR AND DIVISION HEAD DIVISION OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND COMMUNITY HEALTH SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA The University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health (SPH) is conducting an open and national search for a tenured Professor and Head for the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health (EpiCH) to provide strategic and academic leadership for the Division’s 52 primary faculty, more than 300 graduate students, 400 staff, and approximately $25 million annually in sponsored projects research on the etiology and prevention of disease. EpiCH provides a rich and collaborative environment for research, education and service. The Division also offers MPH, MS, and PhD degrees with majors in Epidemiology, Community Health Promotion, Maternal & Child Health, Public Health Nutrition, and Clinical Research, and has active pre- and post-doctoral training. EpiCH is part of the School of Public Health (SPH), a nationally ranked Top 10 institution made up of four divisions: Biostatistics, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology & Community Health, and Health Policy & Management. Located within one of the largest public research universities in the country, the School resides in the heart of a vibrant, diverse metropolitan community known for its outstanding quality of life. Students and faculty benefit from partnerships with world-renowned health centers, international corporations, state and local government agencies, and nonprofit public service organizations. (See http://sph.umn.edu/epi for more detailed information).

Reporting to the Dean of the School of Public Health, the Professor and Head will:

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Serve as the chief administrator of the Division and as a member of the SPH Executive Team, building and nurturing its strategic vision and resources to achieve its missions in collaboration with SPH leadership;

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Supervise, prepare, implement and monitor the Division budget that encompasses all funding sources and ensures compliance with grant, legislative, and institutional guidelines as well as effective management of Division resources;

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Be responsible for advancing and participating in the Division's diverse spectrum of interdisciplinary research, teaching, and service by leveraging and expanding the Division's , School's, and University's strengths;

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Support collaborative activities that cut across the University and community;

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Recruit and retain excellent faculty, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, and encourage their development with strong and effective mentorship; Foster a learning environment that attracts a diverse student body;

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Strengthen collegial and collaborative culture that is inclusive, diverse, supportive, and values strong faculty governance; and

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Maintain an active scholarship portfolio including external funding and peer-reviewed publication.

Candidates must have a Ph.D., Sc.D., M.D., or equivalent degree in a health-related related field and credentials commensurate with appointment as a tenured full professor in the SPH. Candidates are expected to have a nationally/internationally recognized record of research and scholarship, including external funding; demonstrated excellence in graduate program teaching; and documented experience in mentorship, leadership and management in a large diverse academic institution.

This national search will continue until position is filled. External applications are strongly encouraged. To apply for the position, please submit a cover letter, CV including publications list, and a list of at least three referees on-line using the following link: http://tinyurl.com/py8475s. Salary will be competitive and commensurate with qualifications and background.

The University of Minnesota shall provide equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

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