UAB Department of Epidemiology
Epidemiology has been a central part of medicine and public health at UAB from the early 1970's. Since the founding of the School of Public Health, Epidemiology has been the largest department in terms of the number of faculty, number of students, and extramural research support. In 1998, the Departments of Epidemiology and International Health were combined.
Epidemiology is the study of trends, patterns, and causes related to disease in populations. Students who concentrate in epidemiology are interested in how diseases spread among given populations. Epidemiologists create complex analytical models to help understand the causes of and solutions to these diseases more clearly.
Goals
- Provide all students in the School of Public Health with an educational experience in epidemiology that is suited to their career objectives.
- Carry out research that contributes to the understanding of the causes of major diseases and the methods for their control.
- Provide service to the state and region in joint efforts to study, prevent, and control disease and injury.
Department chairs
- Philip Cole (1980-1984 and 1988-1994)
- Sten Vermund (1994-1998)
- Michael Maetz (1985-1987 and 1998-2003)
- Mary Hovinga (2003-2004)
- Donna Arnett (2004-2015)
- Gerald McGwin (2016-2017)
- (Interim) Emily Levitan (2017-2018)
- Beth Lewis (2018-)
History
The department was located on the second floor of Tidwell Hall during the 1980's and 1990's. Most of the department moved to the second floor of the Ryals Public Health Building in 1998. However, the largest group in the department at the time was the Occupational Epidemiology Group and they moved to the fourth floor of Ryals in 1998. After the fifth and sixth floors of the building were completed in 2001, the group moved to the fifth floor.
External Links
- Department of Epidemiology website