Question

Describe a public health problem (infectious/chronic/social), state a hypothesis and design a simple epidemiologic study to test it. You may choose either a cohort, case-control, or cross-sectional study, but justify why you chose it instead of the other study types. (Write a sufficient amount to demonstrate that you understand the question. For sample calculations, show your work or state the software used.)

Answer 1

The epidemiology of infectious disease (ID) involves study of the prevalence, incidence and determinants of infections in populations.

Infectious diseases remain one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality around the world. In addition to studying the rates of and risk factors for infectious disease, ID epidemiologists implement and evaluate interventions at the individual and community level to:

• prevent infection (primary prevention) and, among those with infections,
• to prevent development of disease (secondary prevention) or
• disease-associated death and disability (tertiary prevention)

Research Focus

EpiCH Facultystudy a wide variety of established and emerging infectious diseases:

• Human immunodeficiency virus, human papillomavirus, other genital tract infections affecting women, and other sexually transmitted infections.
• HIV prevention interventions and research on new methods to promote positive sexual health and reduce HIV/STI risk in diverse populations, including adolescents and men who have sex with men (HIPS).
• Zoonotic diseases, or those diseases that can be transmitted from animals to people, such as leptospirosis and toxoplasmosis.
• Modeling infectious disease data, including and cost-effectiveness modeling.

Adjunct faculty members come from programs including the Division of Environmental Health Sciences and Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, the Department of Pediatrics, and the Minnesota Department of Health.

Their research focus on a variety of issues, including:

• food-borne diseases and food safety
• zoonotic diseases
• antimicrobial resistance
• malaria, Streptococcus, Staphylococccus, and other bacterial infections
• influenza
• other vaccine preventable infections and immunization
• emerging infections.

International Focus

A number of our faculty members have research interests and collaborations in foreign countries, reflecting a strong interest in international health. Researchers are currently conducting collaborative studies in Ethiopia, Kenya and Chile, and developing other collaborative proposals with investigators in India and elsewhere.

Highlighted Research

• A community-based intervention to improve adherence and reduce treatment default among HIV-infected patients receiving care in rural Ethiopia. (Alan R. Lifson)
• Cost-effectiveness evaluation of screening programs for congenital infection with Toxoplasmosis in Latin America. (Claudia A. Munoz-Zanzi)
• Human papillomavirus screening strategies and vaccination: cost effectiveness and decision analysis models. (Shalini L. Kulasingam)
• Chlamydia and gonorrhea screening and surveillance in Twin Cities communities of color. (Ruby H.N. Nguyen )
• Ecology of food-borne pathogens, including mathematical models to improve pathogen surveillance and quantitative risk assessment. (Randall Singer)
• Additional research projects are conducted by researchers affiliated with the HIV/STI Intervention and Prevention Studies (HIPS) program.