Admission requirements
Required course(s):
None.
Recommended course(s):
Introduction to Epidemiology, or
Biology
Description
Concerns about the adverse effects of environmental agents on population health is an essential incentive for research and policy. Much of the global disease burden is attributed to environmental exposures such as air pollution, climate change, pesticides, and microorganisms. What are the current health risks of environmental factors, and how can these 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: conducting research in the field of Health and Environment.
Human exposure to chemical, physical and biological agents, and pollutants.
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 understand how to conduct research on the topic of Health and envrionment
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).
Students can think in a scientific way about health and environmental impacts
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 2022-2023 will be published on this page of the e-Prospectus.
Mode of instruction
(Guest) Lectures
Assignments
Practical exercises
Student presentations
Group assignment (systematic review)
Assessment Method
Group presentation: 15%
Individual presentation: 15%
Final written exam: 30%, week 8
Group assignment (systematic review): 30%, ongoing
In-class participation: 10%, ongoing
Reading list
Book: Baker and Nieuwenhuijsen. Environment Epidemiology-study Methods and Applications. Oxford University Press. 2008
Scientific articles are used in this course. The articles are listed in the different sessions and will be available on Brightspace or will be handed to you during the session.
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 course, 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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