Course: Evolutionary Epidemiology
12-Jul-2010 - 16-Jul-2010
*One Week Graduate Summer Course in Evolutionary Epidemiology at the
School
of Public Health, The University of Michigan *
*EPID 788 Evolutionary Epidemiology (1 credit hour) Randolph Nesse
*New applications of evolutionary theory to medicine are growing and
helping
to explain apparent paradoxes, such as rapidly increasing rates of
breast
cancer, increased asthma vulnerability in certain populations and the
metabolic syndrome (For details see The Evolution Network at
http://evolutionandmedicine.org). Epidemiologists have begun to apply
these principles and ask new questions, such as do genes that vary by
latitude explain hypertension, and how might public health
interventions for
infectious disease be 'evolution-proofed' (see discussion of the
American
College of Epidemiology 2008 meeting: Dawn of Evolutionary
Epidemiology (
http://acepidemiology.org/meetings/2008Tuscon/08AMSpeakerHandouts.asp).
This course will explore how epidemiologists and other public health
workers
can make use of these advances in their own work. Applying evolutionary
theory can sharpen research questions, raise new possible explanations
for
observed phenomena and identify new types of exposure and outcome
measures.
Pre-requisite: No prior training in evolutionary biology is assumed.
http://www.sph.umich.edu/epid/GSS/courses/1week.html#788
Afternoons, July 12-16, 2010, School of Public Health, The University of
Michigan
http://www.sph.umich.edu/epid/GSS/index.html
Randolph Nesse, M.D.
The University of Michigan
http://nesse.us
