Environmental Health Sciences: Course Descriptions

Individual Studies in Environmental Health Sciences

Individual studies in Environmental Health Sciences focusing on
applied topics.

Current Issues in Global Environmental Health

Fundamental concepts and principles of environmental health are presented through a critical review and discussion of current issues in global environmental health.

Fundamentals of Environmental Health Risk Assessment

The scientific process used by governmental agencies to evaluate public health threats due to environmental contamination. An orientation to the fundamental and applied components of risk assessment including: hazard identification, toxicology/dose‐response, exposure assessment, and risk
characterization.

Global Pandemics and Public Health

This course summarizes major global pandemics, including communicable (such as COVID-19) and noncommunicable (such as obesity) diseases that are current and from recent history, emphasizes public health threat detection and response, reviews related research articles from high impact journals, and provides a platform so that critical and major questions can be discussed and debated.

Climate Change and Human Health

Recognize current controversies about climate change, summarize the evidence about climate change on human health, and identify major human diseases associated with climate change.

This course is PUBHEHS 5320 and converted to PUBHEHS 4325 (undergraduate section) as of Spring 2021.

Environmental Epigenetics

Epigenetics is an exciting and rapidly growing field of science, with increasing applications in molecular biology, epidemiology and environmental science. Epigenetics is the study of biological mechanisms that will influence exposed host gene expression without altering DNA sequences. Epigenetic patterns of individuals can change over time by different environmental influences that explain a link between nature and nurture. For example, how identical twins with the same genetically information show different susceptibilities to disease. One of the mechanisms is changes in DNA methylation. The course will provide a solid foundation in epigenetics and introduce the basic mechanisms of epigenetic control of gene expression, major laboratory methods, and research applications of in molecular biology, epidemiology, and the environmental sciences.

Food Safety and Public Health

Principles and practice of food safety; transmission, inactivation and control of foodborne pathogens, hazards, toxins and allergens; risk assessment, sanitation, and pest control in foods.

Principles of Toxicology

Fundamentals of dose‐response, exposure, disposition and biotransformation of chemicals in mammalian systems; actions
of toxicants in major organ systems.

Principles of Occupational Health Science

Principles and practice of occupational health, including, among other topics, a history of the discipline and in‐depth consideration of occupational hazards and risks, including
types, sources, exposures and health impacts.

Ecology of Infectious Diseases

This course provides an introduction to the ecology of infectious diseases. We will investigate infectious disease transmission and control in single- and multi-host systems and for vector-borne diseases.

Air Contaminants and Public Health

Air is essential for human survival, and the degradation of its quality has significant impacts on human health and the environment.

Modeling Transmission and Control of Infectious Diseases in Humans and Animals

Provides an introduction to applied infectious disease modeling. Students will learn how the susceptible, infected, removed (SIR) model can represent infectious disease transmission.

This course is cross listed with VETPREV 8830.

Engineering Design for Environmental health

Students in this course will learn how to incorporate health information into the engineering design process. This material complements risk assessment by focusing on the design of engineering systems. Course will discuss balancing financial, health, performance, and other considerations. Quantitative analysis will be conducted in soil, water, air, buildings, and occupational health scenarios.

Environmental Health Science Issues in Health Administration

In this course, we will consider environmental health sciences
as a cornerstone to public health

Principles of Environmental Health Science

Survey of environmental influences on human health and strategies for prevention considering source emissions, environmental fate and transport, human exposure, dose, and
biological effects.

Advanced Environmental Health Science

Survey of environmental influences on human health and strategies for prevention considering source emissions, environmental fate and transport, human exposure, dose, and biological effects.

Global Health and Environmental Microbiology

Fundamentals and emerging issues of health significant microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, protozoa) from water, air, soil and food, and their sources, transmission routes,
treatments, detection methods and study tools.

Climate Change and Human Health

Global climate change may have considerable direct and indirect impacts on human health. This course will be based on scientific facts, focusing on both natural phenomena and anthropogenic activities, with emphasis on associations between disease initiation and progression in humans. Formerly listed as PUBHEHS 5320.

Environmental Epigenetics

Epigenetics is an exciting and rapidly growing field of science, with increasing applications in molecular biology, epidemiology and environmental science. Epigenetics is the study of biological mechanisms that will influence exposed host gene expression without altering DNA sequences. Epigenetic patterns of individuals can change over time by different environmental influences that explain a link between nature and nurture. For example, how identical twins with the same genetically information show different susceptibilities to disease. One of the mechanisms is changes in DNA methylation. The course will provide a solid foundation in epigenetics and introduce the basic mechanisms of epigenetic control of gene expression, major laboratory methods, and research applications of in molecular biology, epidemiology, and the environmental sciences.

Molecular Techniques for Environmental Health Sciences

This course provides students with a practical, "hands-on" introduction to a variety of techniques applied to the study of living systems at the molecular level to address fundamental public health concerns. 

Major Human Diseases in Global Public Health

Public health is focused on preventing illnesses and injuries or intervening to decrease the impact to populations of people. Emphasize on basic physiology, pathophysiology, and clinical evaluation of major human diseases that have significant global public health impact epidemiologically, politically, and economically with a focus on disease causes and prevention.

Formerly PUBHEHS 7390

Individual Studies in Environmental Health Sciences

Individual studies in Environmental Health Sciences focusing on
applied topics.

Group Studies in Environmental Health Sciences

Group studies in Environmental Health Sciences.

Special Topics in Environmental Health Sciences

Opportunity for students to pursue a particular environmental health interest that is not available through existing topical
offerings.

Water Contamination: Sources and Health Impact

Topics focus on understanding the sources, the transport mechanisms and the fate of microbial and chemical contaminants in water, human exposure risks, tracking methods, linking to other environmental matrices and the public health impacts.

Environmental and Human Health Risk Assessment

Students will learn about the development of the formal risk assessment process, its role in environmental and public health regulation in the United States and the four fundamental steps in a risk assessment. Students will learn about the interface between the risk assessment and risk management process.

Quantitative Microbial Risk Analysis Modeling

This course will outline the fundamental sciences and their application in microbial risk modeling.

Exposure Science Monitoring Techniques I

This course will discuss the principles and practices of human exposure sampling of contaminants in environmental and biological matrices with special emphasis on the air matrix. In addition, students will be introduced to analytical techniques and instrumentation for air contaminants in the course.

Exposure Science Monitoring Techniques II

This course will emphasize the principles and practices of human exposure sampling and analysis of contaminants in air, water and soil, as well as analysis of biological specimens (i.e. saliva, urine, exhaled air, blood) for markers of exposure. The course will focus on field sampling, and laboratory analytical instrumentation and methods. 

Seminar in Environmental Health Sciences

Seminar on topics that are relevant to students enrolled in programs in the division of environmental health sciences.

Molecular Techniques for Environmental Health Sciences

Practical introduction to molecular techniques, as applied to
research in environmental health sciences.

Doctoral Seminar in Environmental Health Sciences

Doctoral level seminar on topics that are relevant to students enrolled in the PhD program in health environmental health
sciences.