Research Interest Area: Chronic Disease/Lifecourse Epidemiology
Chronic disease/lifecourse epidemiology provides the interested student with the opportunity to learn techniques and tools to investigate etiology and control, including screening and outcomes, of chronic disease across the lifespan.
Overview
The PhD student in epidemiology should attain skills specifically for the practice of epidemiology in research, teaching and practical settings.
Students with the following interests and are encouraged to explore this research interest area:
- Aging
- Cancer
- Cardiovascular disease
- Diabetes
- Maternal, child, and reproductive health
- Mental health
- Musculoskeletal disorders
- Neurologic disorders including multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and dementia
- Psychiatric disorders
- Socioenvironmental determinants
Faculty
Faculty members primarily working in this area
- Mary Charlton
- Elizabeth Chrischilles
- Anjali Deshpande
- Michael O’Rorke
- Sarah Nash
- Jonathan Platt
- Paul Romitti
- Linda Snetselaar
- Jim Torner
Collaborating faculty
Emeritus faculty
Curriculum
Examples of Featured Emphasis Area Courses
- EPID:5560 Introduction to Molecular Epidemiology
- EPID:6350 Nutritional Epidemiology
- EPID:6600 Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases
Learning Objectives
Students interested in chronic disease/lifecourse epidemiology are preparing for a career in which they will:
- Describe the roles of developmental, genetic, infectious, nutritional, behavioral and environmental factors throughout the life span in chronic disease causation
- Summarize the current state of knowledge and develop hypotheses that may lead to new discoveries in the determinants and prevention of chronic disease
- Generate original ideas, data, and analyses of a quality that will influence public health practice or chronic disease epidemiological science
- Translate the available research into evidence-based public health practice for the prevention of chronic disease
- Design a study where a multidisciplinary team focused on behavioral, environmental, infectious, nutritional and/or genetic factors determines chronic disease etiology.
- Communicate original ideas and findings orally and in writing at a level effective for diverse audiences including attendees at professional meetings, readers of research journals, news media, and laypersons.
Chronic Disease/Lifecourse Curriculum
Centers and Resources
Centers and Institutes
- Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contaminants
- Center for Health Policy and Research
- Center for Public Health Statistics
- Comprehensive Access & Delivery Research & Evaluation (CADRE)
- Environmental Health Sciences Research Center
- Francois M. Abboud Cardiovascular Research Center
- Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center
- Hawk-IDDRC – Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center
- Health Effectiveness Research Center
- Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Institute for Clinical and Translational Science
- Iowa Cancer Registry
- Iowa Perinatal Health Research Collaborative
- Iowa Cancer Consortium
- Iowa Department of Public Health
- Iowa Registry for Congenital and Inherited Disorders
- Nutrition Center
- Preventive Intervention Center
- Prevention Research Center for Rural Health
Research Resources
- Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN)
- Epidemiology Research Core
- Iowa Cancer Consortium
- SEER-Medicare Users Group
- SEER Patterns of Care Data
- SEER*Stat software
- Pilot Grant Programs (Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, Environmental Health Sciences Research Program, Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination)
Additional Resources for Students:
- Baltimore Longitudinal Study of ageing https://www.blsa.nih.gov/
- CDC: longitudinal studies of aging (LOSAS) https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/lsoa/index.htm
- Longitudinal study of American Youth (LSAY) https://www.lsay.org/
- North American Prodome longitudinal Study https://napls.ucsf.edu/
- Elsa https://www.elsa-project.ac.uk/
- Tilda https://tilda.tcd.ie/
- Nicola https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/NICOLA/AboutNICOLA/
- Hagis https://www.hagis.scot/