Course Outlines
HSCI 774-3 Seminar in Neuropharmacology
Mechanisms of drug action in the brain, including several classes of drugs and neurotransmitter systems that are involved in mental health disorders, drug addiction and neurodegeneration. Prerequisite: HSCI 323, MBB 331, or permission of the instructor.
HSCI 775-3 Seminar in Molecular Mechanisms of Epigenetics
Discussion of novel and advanced topics in chemical covalent modifications of chromatin that influence gene regulation. Prerequisite: MBB 331 or permission from the instructor.
HSCI 776-3 Seminar in Molecular Basis of Drug Action and Environmental Exposure
Topics in molecular biology-based research into pathologies of disease related to drug and environmental exposures will be discussed. Focus on systems pharmacology and the molecular determinants of drug and toxicant action as they relate to gene expression and signal transduction. Prerequisite: HSCI 323, MBB 331, or permission of the instructor.
HSCI 777-3 Seminar in Vaccine Immunology
Exposes current immunological concepts of vaccines and vaccinology including vaccination, correlates of immune protection, humoral and mucosal immunity, adjuvants, recombinant vaccine technology, ‘designer’ vaccines, and HIV/AIDS vaccine design as a paradigm for modern vaccinology. Current literature in these areas will be reviewed intensely. Prerequisite: BISC 303, MBB 426, or permission from the instructor.
HSCI 778-3 Seminar in Molecular Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases
Application of modern molecular methods to epidemiological questions. Globally-relevant and emerging infectious diseases will be highlighted. The course will emphasize critical review of the current literature in the field. Prerequisite: BISC 303, 330, MBB 331, or permission from the instructor.
HSCI 800-3 Fundamentals of Biostatistics
Introduction to the practice of statistics with examples from health sciences literatures. Emphasizes statistical thinking and basic statistical concepts. Coverage includes basic descriptive statistics, elementary probability concepts, probability and sampling models, exploratory data analysis for univariate and bivariate data, one sample and two sample tests for means and proportions. Prerequisite: admission to the graduate program or permission of the instructor. Students who have taken HSCI 800 Special Topics ‘Introduction to Biostatistics’ cannot take this course for credit.
HSCI 801-4 Biostatistics I
Introduction to statistical techniques required in epidemiologic and health care research. Review of descriptive and graphical methods, probability distributions, estimation and inference. Rates and standardization. Introduction to lifetables. Diagnostic tests and ROC curves. Design of experiments. General concepts in hypothesis testing; power and sample size estimation. Inference for proportions, contingency tables, odds ratios. Prerequisite: an undergraduate course in statistics or completion of HSCI 800.
HSCI 802-4 Principles of Epidemiology for Public Health
The underlying concepts and methods of epidemiology in the context of population and public health. Study designs (clinical trials, cohort studies, case-control studies, and cross-sectional), measures of disease frequency and effect, validity and precision, confounding and effect modification, analysis of two-by-two tables, and options for control. Students will acquire skills in the critical interpretation of the epidemiologic literature, methodology of estimating measures of disease frequency and effect and common measures of potential impact; evaluation of study design; analysis of bias and confounding; and options for control of extraneous factors. HSCI 801 may be taken concurrently.
HSCI 803-3 Qualitative and Survey Research Methods
Methodologies and strategic research design for advances in knowledge and understanding in the health sciences. Problem definition, sampling, data collection, analysis, proposal writing, and ethical issues are addressed. Provides experiential and intellectual grounding in surveys, interviews, focus groups, and ethnography. Co-requisite: HSCI 802.
HSCI 804-3 Biostatistics for Population Health Practice II
Statistical methods related to public health. Probability distributions, basic statistical inference on means and proportions and general concepts of hypothesis testing. Measures of association. Simple and multivariable linear regression models, dummy variables, and logistic regression models. Survival data analysis. Prerequisite: HSCI 801.
HSCI 805-3 Intermediate Epidemiologic Methods
Follow-up course to HSCI 802. Designing, conducting, analyzing, and interpreting epidemiologic research. Theoretical frameworks, concepts of inference, measures of disease occurrence and effect, study designs, issues in measurement, bias, confounding, and interaction. Critical assessment of the epidemiologic and public health literature. Prerequisite: HSCI 801 and 802.
HSCI 806 Principles of Demographic Analysis
This seminar course is designed to introduce students to demographic techniques and principles through the discussion of the applications of various measures, case studies, and software programs. The emphasis is on applying techniques and principles learned in class to undertake demographic analyses in the lab.
HSCI 807-3 Researching Health Inequities
Critical examination of methodologies and methods for research on health inequities related to class, race, ethnicity, gender and other social axes of marginalization and power. Covers a range of disciplines (epidemiology, social sciences), methodologies (positivist, critical, feminist, indigenous) and methods (qualitative, quantitative, action-oriented). Emphasis on causes of and solutions to systemic health inequities. Prerequisite: HSCI 802 and 803, or permission of instructor.
HSCI 815-3 Concepts of Population and Public Health Practice
Introduction to population health paradigms and the history of public health. Understanding the factors that influence health over the lifespan. Fundamentals of public health strategies including health promotion, public policy, disease prevention, communication in health, behavior change, and program planning and evaluation. Prerequisite: admission to the graduate program or permission of the Instructor
HSCI 821-3 Problems in Global Health
Problem-focused introduction to global health. Critical appraisal of current global health problems in the context of processes of globalization. Understanding and addressing health inequities, within and between countries. A case approach.
HSCI 822-3 Globalization and Health
The mechanisms by which globalization impacts health. Roles of technologies, politics, economics, legal structures, culture, and social environments. The positive and negative impacts of global trends in trade, ideology, governance, community building, conflict, poverty, and the environment. A case studies approach. Prerequisite: admission to the graduate program or permission of the instructor.
HSCI 823-3 Health, Gender and Development
Central role played by gender in health and development. Relationship of gender inequities to access to and control of resources needed to protect health. Use of gender lens in evaluating health systems and economic outcomes. Practical application of gender in health development approach to health financing, resource allocation policy problems in resource-constrained nations. A case studies approach. Prerequisite: admission to the graduate program or permission of the instructor.
HSCI 824-3 Global Health Systems
Concepts of health, illness, sickness and disease. History and development of health systems, and comparison of the social ethics, organization, and financing of different national health systems. The design of health systems - strengths and weaknesses of alternative systems for health care and delivery. Current strategies for health system reform in resource-rich and resource-constrained nations. A case studies approach. Prerequisite: admission to the graduate program or permission of the instructor.
HSCI 826-3 Program Planning & Evaluation in Global Health
Practical approaches to health needs assessment, needs prioritization, health program planning, and health program evaluation in low-to-middle income countries and/or resource-poor settings. Gender-based analyses are emphasized throughout. A case study approach. Prerequisite: admission to the graduate program or permission of the instructor.
HSCI 827-3 Analysis of The Canadian Health Care System
Components of health care systems, issues, and interactions between components. System outputs, medical services and the delivery of primary health care. The Canadian health system and alternatives that impact it or provide better models for delivery. Effecting change, policy development, health system design; criteria for evaluating alternatives. Comparison of different measures of health status; trend analysis for predicting future health care and funding. Components of expenditure. Prerequisite: admission to the graduate program or permission of the instructor.
