Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Research Focus This group of faculty was recruited to meet the increasing and diverse needs for research and training in infectious diseases epidemiology. Therefore their expertise includes a wide range of substantive areas, and research methods. However, the interests of two to four of these faculty overlap in several areas: sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, diarrheal pathogens, immunizations, and tuberculosis In addition, individual faculty conduct research in the areas of environmental transmission of infectious agents including: human caliciviruses, Leishmania, nosocomial pathogens, Vibrio vulnificus, and infectious causes of cervical cancer. The breadth of these faculty interests are an asset to our training program, because we can respond to the diverse needs of our students, research opportunities and public health problems posed by infectious diseases. Likewise, our methodological expertise is broad and extends beyond the conventional epidemiological methods to include the evaluation of societal/behavioral risk factors, integration of qualitative and quantitative data, evaluation of community interventions, health care access, clinical epidemiology, molecular and immunological determinants of pathogenesis, and genetic diversity of microbial pathogens. Service Activities Most of the service activities performed by these faculty derive from their research interests and hence are quite varied. The most prominent activities are consultations with the NC Department of the Environment, Health and Natural Resource's Communicable Disease Section, Immunization Section and Child Daycare Section with respect to evaluation of programs, development of intervention programs and planning and delivery of workshops and conferences. One of the faculty is the Associate Director of the Statewide Tuberculosis Management and Infection Control Program in Community Hospitals, another is a founding member of the North Carolina Coalition to Prevent Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Collectively, the Program's faculty also contribute to: departmental and university committees, leadership of professional societies, review of manuscripts for journals, editorial boards, review of grant applications for foundations, the CDC and the NIH, and to expert committees of the National Academy of Sciences and the CDC.

Last updated December 06, 2007