RESEARCH ACTIVITIES IN EPIDEMIOLOGY

There are several areas of ongoing research in Epidemiology at our department:

Asthma and Allergy
Asthma, a chronic disease of the respiratory system and a major cause of infant morbidity, increased dramatically within the last three decades. Studying asthma in rural children within SC is one of our most important goals.

Cancer
South Carolina has some of the worst health indicators in the United States. For some conditions, including a number of cancers, we have some of the highest incidence rates in the world.

Diabetes
Research in the field of diabetes epidemiology spans the life course, as ongoing projects include children, adolescents and adults.

Environmental & Occupational Epidemiology

Infectious Disease Epidemiology
The primary goal of modern infectious disease epidemiology deals with questions about conditions for disease emergence, spread and persistence. The resulting insights inform important health policies and are crucial in our preparation for emerging threads.

Molecular Epidemiology
The department has a rapidly growing research portfolio in the area of molecular epidemiology works closely together with most of the other research areas in the department.

Nutrition
The Department has an extraordinarily active research portfolio in the area of nutritional epidemiology. Strong programmatic connections exist to the USC Cancer Prevention and Control Program and the Arnold School of Public Health’s Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities.

Obesity
Obesity research spans the entire lifecycle and intersects with multiple other research foci at our department.

Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology
Our department has developed a research focus in the area of pediatric and perinatal epidemiology, with active, externally funded projects exploring the prevention and management of key chronic health conditions affecting our children and youth.

Physical Activity
The Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics has a strong tradition of physical activity research. Students can capitalize on the collaborative work being conducted with other departments and centers within the Arnold School of Public Health and across the university.

Psychiatric Epidemiology
The Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics has a long-standing tradition in the the science of Psychiatric Epidemiology that dates all the way back to the Epidemiology of Adolescent Depression Project that began in 1986.

Public Health Gerontology
The Department, the Arnold School, and the University have a substantial research focus in gerontology. The Office for the Study of Aging (OSA), is within the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics. The OSA provides services to the State of South Carolina that improve the lives of older South Carolinians, and conducts research on aging.