OVERVIEW
The Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
comprises two separate teaching programs.
Epidemiology, the basic science of public
health, studies the distribution and determinants
of disease and other health-related events
in populations. Epidemiologic methods are
used in many ways, such as in establishing
links between risk factors and disease (e.g.,
smoking and lung cancer), in clarifying
the distribution of disease locally, regionally,
nationally, and internationally (e.g., global
distribution of AIDS), in helping elucidate
the natural history of many diseases (e.g.,
cervical cancer), in assessing the effectiveness
of public health interventions, and in evaluating
health resource utilization.
Biostatistics is the development and application
of statistical methods to problems in the
areas of biology, medicine, public health,
and other life sciences. With respect to
public health, biostatistics applies statistical
methods both to describe and draw important
inferences about particular public health
problems. These results are achieved through
the management, analysis, and interpretation
of data, study design, and knowledge of
data analysis issues.
Epidemiology Careers
Graduates specializing in epidemiology
find career opportunities in federal, state,
and local public health service or research
programs. Other graduates may affiliate
with ongoing academic research, often serving
as project coordinators or data managers.
Graduates may also develop careers in the
private sector, working in the pharmaceutical
or health research industries. Doctoral
graduates may go on to upper-level positions
within public health agencies or academic
institutions, as independent investigators
on funded research.
Biostatistics Careers
Specialists in biostatistics find career
opportunities both in private industries,
such as pharmaceuticals, and in the public
sector within governmental agencies and
academic institutions. In such positions,
a biostatistician may participate in work
involving evaluation of new medical therapies,
epidemiological studies of disease, environmental
monitoring, and assessment of the utilization
of health care facilities, vital statistics,
or other public health problems. The biostatistician
plays a key role in study design, in data
collection and processing, and in statistical
analysis and interpretation.
For more information about biostatistics, please visit the Biostatistics Section Website.
^ Top of
Page ^
|
