Admission requirements
No required courses, but Introduction to Epidemiology and Global Public Health and Biology and/or Environmental Pollution are recommended.
Biology and/or Ecotoxicology
Description
Concerns about adverse effects of environmental pollution on population health is an important incentive for research and policy. Much of the global burden of disease is attributed to environmental exposures, with air pollution being the largest environmental health threat, accounting for millions of deaths every year.
In this course we focus on the current health risks of environmental factors and how these can be assessed qualitatively and quantitatively? This course deals with the basic principles of health and environment and their application in specific cases of risk evaluation and assessment. More specifically, the course will address the following topics:
Environmental epidemiology
Human exposure to chemical, physical and biological agents and pollutants, with a main focus on air pollution
Risk assessment of environmental exposures
Interaction with the human body: how may the human body respond and cope with these environmental exposures.
Course Objectives
Content:
Students can think in a scientific way about health and environment topics
Students can describe and classify the primary sources and types of environmental exposures that may be hazardous for health
Students can recognize the main vectors (air, water, soil), carriers and transport of these environmental exposures
Students can explain how the body reacts to environmental exposures/contamination (i.e. pollutants, radiation, hazardous waste and other hazardous biochemical agents).
Skills:
Students can critically interpret findings from environmental epidemiology (e.g. related to study design, basic epidemiological calculations and assessment of health effects and environmental exposures).
Students can write their own report of a systematic review on a particular environmental exposure and health outcome.
Timetable
Timetables for courses offered at Leiden University College in 2020-2021 will be published on this page of the e-Prospectus.
Mode of instruction
(Guest) Lectures
Assignments (eg development of factsheet)
Practical exercises (eg SPSS assignment)
Student presentations
Group assignment (systematic review)
Assessment Method
Development (and presentation) of factsheet: 15%
Individual student presentation, 15%
Final written exam: 30%, week 8
Group assignment (systematic review): 30%, ongoing
In-class participation: 10%, ongoing
Reading list
Next to the book mentioned below, scientific articles are the base of this course. The articles are listed in the different sessions and will be available on blackboard or will be handed to you during the session.
Book: Baker and Nieuwenhuijsen. Environment Epidemiology-study Methods and Applications. Oxford University Press. 2008
Registration
Courses offered at Leiden University College (LUC) are usually only open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Leiden University students who participate in one of the university’s Honours tracks or programmes may register for one LUC, if availability permits. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator, course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
Dr. Marise Kasteleyn, m.j.kasteleyn@lumc.nl
Remarks
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