Course Listings

Courses Offered through the Institute for Clinical Research Education (ICRE)

ICRE courses are available for degree and nondegree students.

Prospective students who are applying to take courses as "nondegree" students are required to complete the standard application. Please click here for the application, or contact the program at 412-586-9632 or icre@pitt.edu for more information.

ICRE Course Calendars and Course Availability

Clinical Research

Medical Education

Courses Offered through Other University Departments

Disability Resources and Services

If you have a disability that requires special testing accommodations or other classroom modifications, you need to notify both the instructor and Disability Resources and Services no later than the second week of the term. You may be asked to provide documentation of your disability to determine the appropriateness of accommodations. To notify Disability Resources and Services, call 412-648-7890 (Voice or TTD) to schedule an appointment. The office is located in 216 William Pitt Union.

CLINICAL RESEARCH

CLRES 2005: Computer Methods in Clinical Research, 1.0 credit(s)
The course provides instruction on the use of computerized methods for clinical research. Dataset manipulation, descriptive statistics, and the graphical presentation of data will be presented using a standard statistical package.
CLRES 2010: Clinical Research Methods, 3.0 credit(s)
CLRES 2010 covers fundamental concepts and basic analytic methods pertaining to the design, analysis, and interpretation of clinical research studies. The course is broadly divided into three major analytic areas: (1) basic epidemiology and observational methods, (2) interventional and randomized controlled trials, and (3) clinical epidemiology and evidence-based medicine. Each section of the course will last 7–9 sessions and culminate in a short examination. The first section of the course will cover concepts of association and outcome, introduce standard epidemiologic concepts of incidence and prevalence, and define and describe relative risk, absolute risk, attributable risk, and the various methods for calculating these quantities in different observational research designs. Definitions of and methods for reducing bias and confounding are major components of this section. The second section introduces interventional trials, including the four phases of drug trials, the importance and effects of randomization, and the analysis and interpretation of controlled trials. Methods for comparing results across trials, as well as an introduction to nonstandard trial designs, are provided. The final section of the course introduces the concepts of clinical epidemiology, including evidence-based medicine, the interpretation of diagnostic tests, the construction and use of clinical prediction rules, and the evaluation of screening for chronic disease.

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CLRES 2020: Biostatistics, 4.0 credit(s)
CLRES 2020 focuses on basic concepts and statistical methods and their application to problems in the health and biomedical sciences. Topics include data description and summarization, basic probability theory, estimation, and hypothesis testing with emphasis on one- and two-sample comparisons involving continuous and categorical data. Linear regression and analysis of variance will be introduced. Trainees will develop their analytic skills through the analysis and discussion of large clinical studies. (Prerequisite: CLRES 2005)

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CLRES 2021: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Regression, 1.0 credit(s)
The course is designed for medical researchers who are not biostatistics majors. Topics covered include multiple linear regression, regression diagnostics, ANOVA, analysis of covariance, confounding, mediation, moderation, and model selection. At the completion of the course, trainees should be able to understand the appropriate uses of ANOVA and linear regression, to assess their appropriateness and adequacy, to analyze simple datasets taken from the fields of medicine and public health, and to summarize results from regression models via written communication. (Prerequisites: CLRES 2005 and CLRES 2020)

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CLRES 2022: Logistic Regression, 1.0 credit(s)
This introductory course in logistic regression modeling is intended for physicians in fellowship training programs and other researchers with a limited background in statistics. The course focuses on regression methods for binary data and on the basics of maximum likelihood inference. At the completion of the course, trainees should be able to understand how logistic regression can be used to address a variety of epidemiologic and clinical questions; to interpret models and assess their appropriateness and adequacy; to develop analytic skills through the analysis of datasets taken from the fields of medicine and public health; and to develop oral and written communication skills through the description of analytic strategies and the summarization and interpretation of results. (Prerequisites: CLRES 2005, CLRES 2020 and CLRES 2021)

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CLRES 2023: Survival Analysis, 1.0 credit(s)
This is an introductory course in regression modeling of time-to-event data. It is intended for physicians in fellowship training programs and other researchers with a limited background in statistics. The course focuses on descriptive methods for survival data, survival analysis, and issues pertaining to time-dependent covariates. At the completion of the course, trainees should be able to recognize when it is necessary to account for time in the analysis of yes/no outcomes and appropriately summarize time-to-event data; be able to interpret the survival analysis model and assess the appropriateness and adequacy of the model; be familiar with issues in the design, analysis, and interpretation of studies involving time-dependent covariates; be able to apply analytic skills to the analysis of datasets taken from the fields of medicine and public health; and be able to develop oral and written communication skills through the description of analytic strategies and the summarization and interpretation of results. (Prerequisites: CLRES 2005, CLRES 2020, CLRES 2021 and CLRES 2022)

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CLRES 2024: Nonparametric Statistics, 1.0 credit(s)
This introductory course is intended for physicians in fellowship training programs and other researchers with a limited background in statistics. The course focuses on statistical methods that are applicable when research outcomes follow diverse probability distributions (normal and nonnormal). Specific attention will be given to bootstrap and rank-based methods. Trainees will develop analytic skills through the analysis of datasets taken from the fields of medicine and public health and will develop oral and written communication skills through the description of analytic strategies and the summarization and interpretation of results. (Prerequisites: CLRES 2005 and CLRES 2020)

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CLRES 2040: Measurement in Clinical Research, 1.0 credit(s)
The course focuses on properties of good measurement that are integral to the research process. Specific objectives are to analyze methods for testing psychometric properties (reliability and validity) of psychological instruments and physiological instruments; to evaluate the adequacy of selected scaling methodologies used in research; to apply knowledge of instrumentation to the description of a psychosocial instrument and a physiological instrument for a research proposal; and to synthesize course content with statistical criteria for scale evaluation and make decisions regarding scale revision. The domain sampling model is presented as the major theory of measurement error, with the parallel test model presented as a special case of the domain sampling model. The construct, criterion, and content validity of psychosocial instruments are explored, and methods for evaluating each of these relative to specific instruments are presented. A variety of scaling methodologies, as well as the principles involved in the design and formatting of questionnaires, will be discussed.

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CLRES 2050: Ethics and Regulation of Clinical Research, 1.0 credit(s)
CLRES 2050 presents an in-depth examination of the basic concepts, values, and policies related to the conduct of clinical research. Topics include the historical context for today's heightened scrutiny of clinical researchers and for the formal mechanisms that are in place to guide researchers and protect the rights and well-being of research subjects. Special attention will be devoted to informed consent, the design and justification of randomized clinical trials, research with vulnerable populations, and ethical aspects of international research. Other topics will include conflicts of interest, plagiarism, scientific misconduct, authorship, and presentation of data. The course is specifically designed to coordinate with the year-long Research Design and Development course (CLRES 2071 and 2072). The trainees will use their NIH-style proposal to create an institutional review board (IRB) submission. The submission will be critiqued by their peers according to IRB criteria.

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CLRES 2071: Research Design and Development Part I, 3.0 credit(s)
The purpose of the integrated methods course is to build on the skills learned in the intensive summer session and provide a hands-on research experience. Trainees will learn the phases of the research process from conception to design and, ultimately, to implementation of the research. Through a combination of group sessions and independent work, trainees will use a research topic of their choice to develop their own research proposal in the form of an NIH grant application. The application will include sections on specific aims, background and significance, previous work, and methods. In addition, trainees will review and critique the work of their peers. (Prerequisites: CLRES 2005, CLRES 2010, CLRES 2020 and CLRES 2040. Mentor must be identified prior to class. CLRES 2050 is taken simultaneously.)

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CLRES 2072: Research Design and Development Part II, 2.0 credit(s)
The purpose of the integrated methods course is to build on the skills learned in the intensive summer session and provide a hands-on research experience. Trainees will learn the phases of the research process from conception to design and, ultimately, to implementation of the research. Through a combination of group sessions and independent work, trainees will use a research topic of their choice to develop their own research proposal in the form of an NIH grant application. The application will include sections on specific aims, background and significance, previous work, and methods. In addition, trainees will review and critique the work of their peers. (Prerequisites: CLRES 2005, CLRES 2010, CLRES 2020, CLRES 2040 and CLRES 2071. Mentor must be identified prior to class. CLRES 2050 is taken simultaneously.)

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CLRES 2080: Master's Thesis Research, 3.0 credit(s)
Trainees may register for this course with approval from the mentor and selected faculty of the Degree Granting Programs in Clinical Research Curriculum Committee. The course is designed for trainees who are prepared to undertake their thesis or substantive research project.
CLRES 2085: Directed Research/Independent Study in Clinical Research, 1-3 credit(s)
An independent study project is designed by the student to pursue an area of study within clinical research that is not covered by the established curriculum. It cannot be used to replace required or core courses. The project is designed by the student and requires that an ICRE faculty member supervise the project. The student will complete the MS directed research independent study form and the faculty preceptor must approve. An independent study project may carry 1-3 graduate semester credits, assigned at the faculty member’s discretion based on the project proposed.

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CLRES 2100: Outcomes and Effectiveness Research Methods, 2.0 credit(s)
CLRES 2100 provides a survey of effectiveness research. The curriculum will deal with conceptualization, design, sampling, modeling, data collection, and analysis used in outcomes and effectiveness studies. The emphasis of the course will be on research methodology and study design. The course will be interactive and will extensively use studies published in the literature as a teaching tool. At the completion of the course, trainees should understand how to design an effectiveness study; have an understanding of how to control for severity and comorbidity in studies of effectiveness; know the wide range of outcomes used in this research; and learn important examples of effectiveness studies. (Prerequisites: CLRES 2005, CLRES 2010 and CLRES 2020)

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CLRES 2120: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Health Care, 1.0 credit(s)
CLRES 2120 provides an introduction to the methods used in the economic analysis of health care programs. The course will discuss economic principles that serve as the foundation of cost-effectiveness analysis, will describe the various ratios and methodologies used in cost-effectiveness studies, will highlight the current controversies in cost-benefit analysis, and will explore issues regarding the appropriate use of cost-effectiveness in making medical decisions concerning patients and populations. Additional topics include concepts of perspective, utility analysis, discounting, and the definition of various costs and benefits.

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CLRES 2121: Clinical Decision Analysis, 1.0 credit(s)
This course presents an overview of the theory of medical decision making. Topics include the incorporation of uncertainty and risk into medical decision making; the use of decision-making techniques in both population and individual patient settings; the design, structure, and evaluation of decision trees generated by software packages; sensitivity analysis and the stability of model outputs; and controversies concerning the perspective of the analysis and the discounting of costs and benefits. The course will help trainees become skilled in structuring and analyzing decision-making problems.

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CLRES 2122: Advanced Methods in Decision and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, 1.0 credit(s)
CLRES 2122 expands on topics introduced in CLRES 2120 (Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Health Care) and CLRES 2121 (Clinical Decision Analysis) and provides additional guidelines for using decision sciences in larger, more complex applications. Topics include modeling clinical processes and systems; discrete event simulation; advanced sensitivity analysis and confidence limits; controversies surrounding the use of cost-effectiveness analyses; and multiattribute utility theory. (Prerequisites: CLRES 2120 and CLRES 2121)

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CLRES 2124: Directed Study in Decision and Cost-Effectiveness Analyses, 1-3 credit(s)
There are no formal class meetings. Each student will meet independently with his or her chosen faculty member and will develop a timeline and schedule of meetings and milestones for various components of the particular project or topic review. It is expected that the student and faculty member will meet every 1–2 weeks during the duration of the course. (Prerequisite: CLRES 2122)
CLRES 2130: Health Services Research Using Secondary Data: Didactic Course, 1.0 credit(s)
Health services researchers and epidemiologists rely on many publicly and privately available secondary databases, ranging from databases that are collected primarily for research and surveillance (e.g., the National Health Interview Survey) to databases that are collected for administrative or billing purposes but that have research utility (e.g., Medicare claims). CLRES 2130 provides an introduction to many of the large databases that are frequently used by health services researchers.

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CLRES 2131: Health Services Research Using Secondary Data: Project Course, 3.0 credit(s)
CLRES 2131 provides trainees with an opportunity to complete a mentored research project using a large secondary database. Over a 9-month period, trainees will revise their research projects from CLRES 2130; acquire necessary data files to conduct their study; perform essential data cleaning, manipulation, and analyses; and develop an abstract for submission to a professional meeting. (Prerequisite: CLRES 2130)

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CLRES 2140: Best Practices in Clinical Research, 1.0 credit(s)
CLRES 2140 covers the basic operations of conducting a health services research project, from developing realistic timelines and schedules to building tracking databases, training interviewers and data collectors, monitoring data collection and budgets, reporting, and closing out a study.

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CLRES 2170: Making the Most of Mentoring, 1.0 credit(s)
We strongly believe that effective mentoring is the cornerstone of a successful academic career—whether it be in education, research, or clinical work. Good mentors are able to guide mentees as they attempt to navigate through the course of their careers. This course is designed to provide a basis for understanding the mentor-mentee relationship and to provide strategies for making the most out of the experience. Topics will include communication and negotiation, the use of mentoring contracts, providing and accepting feedback, evaluating the mentoring relationship, and solving problems and meeting challenges. Fellows, postdocs, other Institute for Clinical Research Education (ICRE) trainees, and junior faculty will discover useful ways to enhance the mentoring relationship and make it a rewarding experience both for the mentees and the mentors.

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CLRES 2300: Introduction to Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, 1.0 credit(s)
The course is an overview of the concepts necessary for performing systematic reviews and meta-analyses, covered in sufficient detail to enable students to conduct their own systematic reviews and meta-analyses after completion of the course. Students will learn about the individual steps involved in conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses, including developing a focused research question, assembling a team to perform the study, designing a study protocol, defining inclusion and exclusion criteria, identifying relevant literature databases (including Cochrane databases and Medline), developing literature search strategies, performing the literature search, creating a data abstraction form, handling data abstraction and management, and using statistical methods for meta-analysis. We will discuss important topics such as criteria for meta-analysis, exploration of heterogeneity, choice of a meta-analytic method, study quality assessment, sensitivity and subgroup analysis, evaluation of potential sources of bias, presentation of results, and application of review results. Each class will have both a didactic component and a hands-on component that allows students to immediately apply the concepts introduced during the session. Students will use concepts learned in this course to evaluate and update a published systematic review and meta-analysis.

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CLRES 2310: Conducting a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: A Project Course, 2.0 credit(s)
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are considered by many investigators to be the highest level of evidence for answering clinical questions. Well-conducted, methodologically rigorous systematic reviews can resolve uncertainties about therapeutic or diagnostic interventions and can be helpful for the practicing physician. Despite this, researchers, intimidated by the numerous steps and the complex statistics involved in conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis, may be reluctant to undertake this type of study. In this course, we aim to help investigators perform a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis by providing (1) assistance in the formulation of the research protocol; (2) access to research librarians and other resources essential for conducting a comprehensive literature search; (3) collaboration with statisticians experienced in meta-analysis; (4) assistance in interpretation of results and manuscript development; and (5) mentoring from a team of physicians and research scientists experienced in systematic review and meta-analysis. Participants in this course will perform a systematic review and meta-analysis in their area of interest, with the goal of publishing a manuscript in a timely fashion. (Prerequisite: CLRES 2300)

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CLRES 2320: Clinical Trials Practicum, 2-3 credit(s)
The purpose of the clinical trials practicum is for trainees (fellows and junior faculty) who are (or want to be) involved with a clinical trial to obtain course credit for their research experience. Each trainee is required to work with an experienced clinical researcher (investigator) who formally agrees to provide the trainee mentorship. The investigator must be planning a clinical trial, conducting a clinical trial, or have conducted a clinical trial. Trainees are expected to become part of the research team and learn how studies or trials are actually designed, implemented, managed, and analyzed. Trainees are expected to provide an outline of readings relevant for the practicum objectives and at the end of the practicum provide summaries of their experiences and reading materials. They may also receive credit by taking a specific question and analyzing a dataset from the trial. They can write up their findings for possible publication under the supervision of the investigators and are expected to provide a written summary of their involvement that is validated by their mentors at the end of the experience. Please see link below for the NIH's definition of clinical trials: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/peer/tree_glossary.pdf (Prerequisites: CLRES 2800, CLRES 2810, CLRES 2820 or equivalent)
CLRES 2400: Qualitative Research Methods, 1.0 credit(s)
The course will introduce participants to the characteristics and various approaches to designing and conducting qualitative research projects in health and health services research. Each student will gain hands-on experience in various qualitative methods and analysis techniques while carrying out a research project related to his or her area of interest. Topics covered will include study design; data collection, with an emphasis on focus group and in-depth interviewing methods; qualitative data analysis theory, techniques, and tools; and the presentation and dissemination of qualitative research results. Course assignments will include designing an interview or focus group question protocol relevant to the student's own research interests, conducting an in-depth interview, and performing preliminary data analysis on the interview text. The final project will be tailored to meet the current research development needs of each individual student and may involve writing a focused literature review, drafting a qualitative research proposal, or writing up the results of a qualitative research project for publication.

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CLRES 2500: Introduction to Patient-Oriented Research in Aging, 3.0 credit(s)
CLRES 2500 provides an overview of conceptual and pragmatic issues in the design and implementation of patient-oriented research involving older adults. A brief summary of the current status of older adult health, disease, living situations, and health care in the United States will be followed by a systematic study of the effects of aging and chronic disease on research issues related to sampling, recruitment, consent, measurement, censoring, intervention, analysis, and research in special settings. Students are expected to demonstrate integration of information provided over the course of the semester by creating an original grant proposal for a research project involving aging adults. Alternatively, students who have previously completed a research proposal for another purpose can critique and revise their proposal based on the content of this course. Students who are in the Degree Granting Programs in Clinical Research and are working toward the master's degree may use their final grant proposal as the basis for the thesis or substantive research project required for completion of the optional content specialization in aging and chronic disease. (Prerequisite: CLRES 2010 or equivalent)

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CLRES 2510: Aging Research in Special Settings, 1.0 credit(s)
Older adults are frequent users of special health and community settings, and they often have associated health and psychosocial characteristics that influence the design and implementation of research. This course addresses methods and challenges of aging research in special settings, such as long-term care, life care, senior housing, rehabilitation, day care, hospices, emergency rooms, hospitals, and intensive care units. Lectures and classroom discussions will be supplemented with readings focused on aging research performed in special settings. Real-world application of knowledge will be facilitated through visits to two different settings specific to older adults. Students will write a final paper integrating the information they learned during the course. (Prerequisite: CLRES 2500)

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CLRES 2520: Special Issues in Clinical Trials in Older Populations, 1.0 credit(s)
The course explores the special challenges inherent in the design, implementation, and evaluation of intervention studies in older adults, with common challenges including population heterogeneity, reduced tolerance to demand, family protectiveness, and competing events. Sessions will examine the theoretical and practical issues confronting investigators who must tailor the study population, setting, intervention, comparison arm, duration of follow-up, and outcome measures to achieve internally valid results while maintaining feasibility and generalizability. Students are expected to demonstrate integration of information provided during the course by critiquing a set of published clinical trials on an age-related topic of their choice. (Prerequisite: CLRES 2500)

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CLRES 2530: New and Emerging Techniques in Research on Aging, 1.0 credit(s)
Researchers will describe the novel and emerging techniques that they are currently using locally in research on aging. Students will explore opportunities to engage in "bedside to bench" research that can link clinical and technology-related research questions. Students will be provided with knowledge that will be useful both in analyzing age-related literature that involves these techniques and in identifying appropriate techniques to enhance their own studies in the future.(Prerequisite: CLRES 2500)

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CLRES 2601: Principles and Practices in Palliative Care Part I, 1.0 credit(s)
The broad objectives of this course are to provide trainees with an overview of the basic and clinical sciences underlying the professional care of dying patients and to introduce them to the primary reference sources in the field of palliative medicine. The course will be taught in small-group discussion format, with faculty drawn from content experts throughout the medical center. Discussions will combine analysis of the evidence base for a wide range of palliative care interventions with clinical case discussions. Cases will be drawn from the literature, faculty experiences, and current clinical activities of the trainees themselves.

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CLRES 2602: Principles and Practices in Palliative Care Part II, 1.0 credit(s)
The broad objectives of this course are to provide trainees with an overview of the basic and clinical sciences underlying the professional care of dying patients and to introduce them to the primary reference sources in the field of palliative medicine. The course will be taught in small-group discussion format, with faculty drawn from content experts throughout the medical center. Discussions will combine analysis of the evidence base for a wide range of palliative care interventions with clinical case discussions. Cases will be drawn from the literature, faculty experiences, and current clinical activities of the trainees themselves. (Prerequisite: CLRES 2601)

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CLRES 2610: Research Methods in Palliative Care, 1.0 credit(s)
This special methods course will provide the critical bridge between the more general research skills, which are the focus of the Degree Granting Programs in Clinical Research, and the particular challenges of doing patient-oriented research in palliative care. This 1-credit course, along with Principles and Practices of Palliative Care, is the cornerstone of the optional content specialization in palliative care. It consists of discussions of the use of specific research methods and their strengths and limitations in palliative care, a review of landmark research articles in palliative care, and a critical appraisal of the methodologies. The course is taught in a graduate seminar fashion with an emphasis on discussion and critical analysis. Sessions are often moderated by a palliative care physician and a researcher with the particular methodologies expertise under discussion.

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CLRES 2700: Fundamentals of Bench Research, 3.0 credit(s)
The course is designed to teach fellows in training and future clinician-scientists the core principles of scientific investigation. The course is organized in a manner that allows fellows to learn the theory behind most of the common research approaches and to learn the new and innovative approaches of current scientific endeavors. In addition, participants acquire laboratory technical skills via a "learning by doing" approach in a 2-week period. The student will receive 3 credits only after completing both the lecture portion and the laboratory portion of the course.
CLRES 2730: From Benchtop to Bedside: What Every Scientist Needs to Know, 1.0 credit(s)
This 10-week course is designed to teach research scientists how to navigate the path necessary to bring a basic science discovery out of the university and into the clinic. Participants will learn the criteria used by the private sector to assess the potential of discoveries that have therapeutic or diagnostic applications. They will understand how proof-of-concept and validation experiments define the application, increase value, and reduce risk. The course will focus on the importance of intellectual property protection as the engine that creates a barrier to entry for competition and also enables investment from the private sector to fund the climb over regulatory and reimbursement hurdles to reach patients. This course is open to scientific researchers and others who are interested in gaining knowledge of the commercial development process. The core faculty for the course will include Office of Enterprise Development (OED) staff members and numerous guest speakers and panelists from the scientific and entrepreneurial community.

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CLRES 2800: Fundamentals in Clinical Trials, 1.0 credit(s)
CLRES 2800 will provide information on the first three phases (phases I, II, and III) of drug development and on fundamental components of randomized clinical trials. A majority of lectures will focus on aspects of phase III parallel group designs, with discussions on topics including the development of research questions, definition of endpoints, recruitment, randomization, blinding, data management and quality, monitoring, study closeout, and presentation and interpretation of results. The student will be introduced to good clinical practice guidelines, the principles of planning and implementing clinical research protocols, ethical issues and regulatory imperatives designed to protect human subjects in clinical research, adverse event reporting, protocol and proposal development, and publication. We will use manuscripts on clinical trials and protocols of completed studies to facilitate learning of concepts discussed in class. We highly recommend that students take analysis of variance (ANOVA) and logistic regression courses before taking this course. (Prerequisites: CLRES 2005 and CLRES 2020 or BIOS 2041)

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CLRES 2810: Statistical Methods and Issues in Clinical Trials, 1.0 credit(s)
The course will provide in-depth information about conducting randomization, planning sample size, analyzing clinical trials (including phase I, II, and III designs), and reporting and interpreting results of studies. We will use manuscripts on clinical trials and protocols of completed studies to facilitate learning of concepts discussed in class. We highly recommend that students take analysis of variance (ANOVA) and logistic regression courses before taking this course. (Prerequisites: CLRES 2005 and CLRES 2020 or BIOS 2041, and CLRES 2800)

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CLRES 2813: Introduction to Patient Care and Clinical Environments, 3.0 credit(s)
This three credit course is designed for students who have no significant clinical experience with the U.S. healthcare system. The course is divided into two main sections. In the first section, we will cover medical and health care concepts and terms, and discuss observational techniques derived from the Toyota Production System. In the second section of the course, students will shadow physicians in a variety of clinical settings and report back to the class on their observations using the skills learned in the first half of the course. No previous clinical experience is assumed. Students will be expected to attend lectures and will spend a significant portion of their time observing and reporting on different clinical settings throughout the semester.

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CLRES 2820: Special Topics in Clinical Trials, 1.0 credit(s)
The special topics course will provide information on the different types of clinical trials beyond the phase III superiority parallel group design. We will use manuscripts on special types of clinical trials to facilitate learning of concepts discussed in class. We highly recommend that students take analysis of variance (ANOVA) and logistic regression courses before taking this course. (Prerequisites: CLRES 2005 and CLRES 2020 or BIOS 2041, CLRES 2800 and CLRES 2810)

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CLRES 2900: Transforming Practice for Improved Health Care, 2.0 credit(s)
CLRES 2900 will provide an overview of theories, methods, structures, and processes useful for translating evidence-based research findings into practice and for transforming the practice setting to improve quality and outcomes. Students will be required to develop a research proposal or business plan related to translating research findings into practice or to transforming the clinical practice setting. Students will have the opportunity to subsequently implement their proposal or business plan in the optional CLRES 2910 Translational Research Practicum.

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CLRES 2910: Translational Research Practicum, 2-3 credit(s)
The course is designed to provide the students with experience implementing a proposal that was developed in the prerequisite course, CLRES 2900 (Transforming Practice for Improved Health Care). The practicum will provide students with hands-on experience describing or explaining barriers to health care or developing and testing interventions designed to enhance the quality of health care. In implementing their projects, students will collaborate with a faculty preceptor or mentor who has expertise in content and methods related to the project. Over a 9-month period, students in CLRES 2910 will revise their proposal or business plan from CLRES 2900, implement the revised proposal or plan under the guidance of their preceptor or mentor, and develop a poster or paper presentation. (Prerequisite: CLRES 2900)

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CLRES 3010: PhD Independent and Directed Research, 1-3 credit(s)
Independent or directed research course for the PhD in Clinical and Translational Science.
CLRES 3140: Introduction to Translational Research in the Health Sciences, 2.0 credit(s)
The course provides students with a comprehensive survey of the processes involved in translating research discoveries into practices that promote health and prevent disease. The specific topics to be covered will be listed in the lecture schedule. The main student evaluation is a multi-disciplinary group project on a translational research concept or idea that has the potential to make a major impact on health within the next 10 years. Elements of the project include: Defining a health problem, justifying the line of research selected, identifying current barriers and suggesting how they can be overcome, anticipating the outcomes or impact, and identifying the disciplines that need to be involved in this research and why. Course lectures and content are delivered via electronic media, collaborative learning approaches and classroom activities (both live and online format). Live and online session dates will be provided in the syllabus lecture schedule. Online sessions require student attendance in virtual classroom discussions and/or group activities during the scheduled class time. Live sessions will meet in the classroom during the scheduled class time.

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BEHAVIORAL AND COMMUNITY HEALTH SCIENCES

BCHS 2502: Social and Behavioral Aspects of Public Health Practice, 1.5 credit(s)
BCHS 2502 provides an overview of the social and behavioral factors that are associated with the design and implementation of public and community health programs. Emphasis is also given to the significance of social and behavioral issues as they apply to effective public health leadership, program implementation, and interdisciplinary team work.
BCHS 2532: Dimensions of Aging: Culture and Health, 2.0 credit(s)
This course provides an overview of the aging experience from a cross-cultural perspective and a public health perspective. The major theme is the variety of ways in which people cope with and adapt to the aging process.
BCHS 2533: Issues in Long-Term Care Services, 3.0 credit(s)
Long-term care is a system of institutional and community-based services for the aging population. Within this framework, services and delivery systems are analyzed for adequacy and appropriateness; system-wide issues are identified and discussed; and selected components of the delivery system are examined for administrative problems.
BCHS 2545: Introduction to Community Mental Health, 2.0 credit(s)
BCHS 2545 offers an overview of the field and provides background material regarding the philosophical, social, and psychological impetus for community-based mental health programs.
BCHS 2548: Community Mental Health Consulting Techniques, 1.0 credit(s)
Through seminar and actual consultation experience, the course studies processes that extend the effectiveness of mental health specialists to other personnel in areas of community organization, program development, education, and service.
BCHS 2563: Community Health Assessment, 3.0 credit(s)
The course discusses techniques for assessing and projecting selected community characteristics and population health status from the viewpoint of community health programming. It covers both primary and secondary data, such as demographic data, health care utilization data, and survey data.
BCHS 2568: Human Diversity and Public Health, 2.0 credit(s)
The course will provide a theoretical framework for designing policy, research, and programs for diverse populations; will discuss opportunities for expanding, understanding, and examining attitudes about human diversity; and will focus on community organizations and marketing methods related to program design and recruiting and sustaining volunteer or patient participation in programs.
BCHS 2585: Historical and Sociological Perspectives in Public Health, 3.0 credit(s)
This seminar will examine, through assigned readings and discussions, the historical and sociological influences on specific topics within the broad field of public health. Particular attention will be placed on the impact of five general themes on the evolution and current status of public health: the role of government, urbanization, industrialization, religion, and advances in science and technology.
BCHS 2599: Public Health Approaches to Women's Health, 3.0 credit(s)
The course discusses public health problems affecting women (i.e., alcoholism, smoking, occupational health, reproductive health, aging, and cancer); health and social problems relating primarily to women; the etiology of health problems; prevention; treatment; high-risk groups; and controversies related to care.
BCHS 3002: Health Survey Methods, 3.0 credit(s)
BCHS 3002 introduces techniques for the collection of health data through survey methods.
BCHS 3007: Ethnographic and Qualitative Methods, 3.0 credit(s)
Students will be introduced to the basic principles of ethnographic research and their application to the evaluation of human service and health care programs. They will become familiar with research design in ethnographic studies; the process of fieldwork in urban settings; the methodology of participant observation and ethnographic interviewing; recording of ethnographic data; ethnographic writing; and ethical questions surrounding ethnographic research.

BIOSTATISTICS

BIOST 2016: Introduction to Sampling, 2.0 credit(s)
The course provides a working knowledge of practical sampling methods with an understanding of their theoretical background. Emphasis is placed on sampling human populations in large communities.
BIOST 2025: Biostatistics Seminar, 1.0 credit(s)
Biometry seminars introduce the students to current health problems involving the application and development of biostatistics methods and theory.
BIOST 2045: Analysis of Case-Control Studies, 2.0 credit(s)
BIOST 2045 presents methods employed in the study of health problems in population groups within the community. The course covers measures of disease occurrence and association for various study designs, classical analysis of grouped and matched case-control studies, and an introduction to logistic regression.
BIOST 2046: Analysis of Cohort Studies, 3.0 credit(s)
This introductory applied course in statistical modeling focuses on regression methods for the analysis of cohort data. Topics include the generalized linear model and generalized estimating equations (with emphasis on logistic and Poisson regression) and Cox regressions with time-dependent covariates. Students analyze several cohort datasets, assess the adequacy of their models, and interpret their results.
BIOST 2062: Clinical Trials: Practice and Methods, 3.0 credit(s)
The course lectures integrate Web-based material covering fundamental concepts in the design and conduct of modern clinical trials. Topics include experimental designs; interim monitoring; analytic methods for comparative clinical trials; ethical, organizational, and practical considerations for design; case studies; international guidelines for publications in major journals; and meta-analyses.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

EOH 2302: Molecular Approaches: Toxicology, 2.0 credit(s)
This course is designed to introduce students to recent advances in the field of molecular toxicology. A basic foundation in genetics and tools of biotechnology will first be developed. Recent examples of innovative approaches used to study toxic agents at the molecular level will then be described. Progress in research on DNA/protein adducts, xenobiotic metabolism, and characterization of oncogenes will also be discussed.
EOH 2304: Biomarkers and Molecular Epidemiology, 2.0 credit(s)
This course summarizes the concepts and biological principles of molecular biomarkers; provides students with an understanding of methodologic principles of using biomarkers in epidemiologic research relevant to the study of chronic human disease and public health; and discusses the current use of specific biomarkers in epidemiologic and clinical research, with examples of human cancer and cardiovascular, immunologic, and neurologic diseases.

EPIDEMIOLOGY

EPIDEM 2171: Cancer Epidemiology, 2.0 credit(s)
This course reviews basic cancer biology, reviews classic descriptive cancer epidemiology, considers the role for modern biomedical techniques in studies of cancer etiology, and reviews the active hypotheses regarding the etiology of common and uncommon human cancers. Specific topics include cancer biomarkers and intermediate endpoints, tobacco- and alcohol-associated cancer, virus-associated cancer, endocrine-related cancer, and nutrition-related cancer.
EPIDEM 2400: Psychosocial Factors in Disease, 2.0 credit(s)
EPIDEM 2400 focuses on psychosocial and behavioral factors (e.g., socioeconomic status, stress, social support, and depression) that influence the development and course of physical diseases such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and obesity. The course includes lectures, readings, and discussions.
EPIDEM 2710: Epidemiology of Women's Health, 2.0 credit(s)
The course presents an introduction to studies of influences on health and disease among women. It discusses epidemiologic approaches to understanding the basic etiology and primary prevention of diseases unique to or more common among women. The course includes lectures, seminars, and discussion.
EPIDEM 2711: Physiology in Women, 2.0 credit(s)
This course provides a basic understanding of the physiology of the human female. It emphasizes the interactions between the endocrinology of women and basic growth, development, and metabolism. The course includes lectures and discussion.
EPIDEM 2850: Introduction to Pharmacoepidemiology, 2.0 credit(s)
EPIDEM 2850 is an introduction to the field of pharmacoepidemiology, which uses epidemiologic methods to examine the benefits or risks of medications in the population. In addition to formal lectures, students will be given the opportunity to examine and critique the literature in the field.
EPIDEM 2900: Epidemiology of Aging, 2.0 credit(s)
The course teaches epidemiologic methods pertinent to research on aging individuals and discusses state-of-the-art knowledge about the epidemiology of diseases that primarily affect aging individuals.

HEALTH POLICY MANAGEMENT

HPM 2028: Microeconomics Applied to Health, 3.0 credit(s)
This course is an introduction to microeconomics, the study of resource allocation with a particular emphasis on the role of markets. The course focuses on the competitive model. Examples of the use of economic concepts are drawn primarily from the health and medical care delivery systems.
HPM 2105: Health and Medical Care Organization, 2.0 credit(s)
This course touches on the structure of health care delivery systems and prevailing patterns and methods of delivering health and medical care services. It reviews the historical, ethical, and legal basis of consumer behavior. The course covers personnel and facilities, organization, financing, and quality assessment, with special attention given to managed medical care. Students develop skills in analyzing contemporary policy issues from an interdisciplinary vantage point.
HPM 2125: Health Economics, 3.0 credit(s)
HPM 2125 examines the market for medical services, with the view that the special nature of the market demands careful economic analysis rather than the abandonment of economic principles. Topics include the demand for health and the derived demand for health/medical care and insurance, the supply of medical services (physician and hospital services in particular), the roles of uncertainty and information, and the problems of pricing, production, and distribution of health and medical services.
HPM 2135: Health Policy, 2.0 credit(s)
This course is an introduction to federal and state legislative, administrative, and budget systems as they affect health services. The course focuses on the study of selected health policies, considering them in their historical perspective, present status, and future direction within their social, economic, and political contexts.

HUMAN GENETICS

HUGEN 2025: Human Genetics Seminar, 0.0 credit(s)
Human genetics seminars present current genetics methodology, theory, and data.
HUGEN 2031: Chromosomes and Human Disease, 3.0 credit(s)
The role of the chromosomes in human disease is discussed after a thorough background on chromosome structure and function is presented. Topics covered include cytogenetic methodology, aneuploidy, chromosome rearrangements, chromosomes and cancer, chromosome breakage syndromes, and fragile sites on human chromosomes.
HUGEN 2034: Introduction to Human Biochemical and Molecular Genetics, 3.0 credit(s)
This course is an introduction to human biochemical and molecular genetics, with special reference to the biochemical and molecular basis of genetic diseases and the distribution of genetically determined disease susceptibility in human populations.
HUGEN 2040: Molecular Basis of Human Inherited Disease, 3.0 credit(s)
This course will provide up-to-date overviews of the most common and biologically informative human inherited disorders and will integrate clinical descriptions with recent genetic, molecular genetic, and biochemical insights. Disorders covered include lysosomal storage disorders, neuromuscular diseases, organic acidopathies, amino acidopathies, neurofibromatosis, cystic fibrosis, and neurodegenerative and ophthalmic disorders. Current techniques of gene mapping, cloning, transfer, and expression will be integrated into the overviews.
HUGEN 2048: Linkage Analysis Human Genetics, 3.0 credit(s)
HUGEN 2048 is an advanced course that discusses the principles and practices of linkage analysis in human genetics. The course will cover both parametric and nonparametric approaches to linkage analysis and will include hands-on experience with the current computer programs used for linkage analysis.

MEDICAL EDUCATION

MEDEDU 2005: Computer Methods in Clinical Research, 1.0 credit(s)
The course provides instruction on the use of computerized methods for clinical research. Dataset manipulation, descriptive statistics, and the graphical presentation of data will be presented using a standard statistical package.

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MEDEDU 2010: Clinical Research Methods, 3.0 credit(s)
MEDEDU 2010 covers fundamental concepts and basic analytic methods pertaining to the design, analysis, and interpretation of clinical research studies. The course is broadly divided into three major analytic areas: (1) basic epidemiology and observational methods, (2) interventional and randomized controlled trials, and (3) clinical epidemiology and evidence-based medicine. Each section of the course will last 7–9 sessions and culminate in a short examination. The first section of the course will cover concepts of association and outcome, introduce standard epidemiologic concepts of incidence and prevalence, and define and describe relative risk, absolute risk, attributable risk, and the various methods for calculating these quantities in different observational research designs. Definitions of and methods for reducing bias and confounding are major components of this section. The second section introduces interventional trials, including the four phases of drug trials, the importance and effects of randomization, and the analysis and interpretation of controlled trials. Methods for comparing results across trials, as well as an introduction to nonstandard trial designs, are provided. The final section of the course introduces the concepts of clinical epidemiology, including evidence-based medicine, the interpretation of diagnostic tests, the construction and use of clinical prediction rules, and the evaluation of screening for chronic disease.

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MEDEDU 2020: Biostatistics, 4.0 credit(s)
MEDEDU 2020 focuses on basic concepts and statistical methods and their application to problems in the health and biomedical sciences. Topics include data description and summarization, basic probability theory, estimation, and hypothesis testing with emphasis on one- and two-sample comparisons involving continuous and categorical data. Linear regression and analysis of variance will be introduced. Trainees will develop their analytic skills through the analysis and discussion of large clinical studies. (Prerequisite: MEDEDU 2005)

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MEDEDU 2040: Measurement in Clinical Research, 1.0 credit(s)
The course focuses on properties of good measurement that are integral to the research process. Specific objectives are to analyze methods for testing psychometric properties (reliability and validity) of psychological instruments and physiological instruments; to evaluate the adequacy of selected scaling methodologies used in research; to apply knowledge of instrumentation to the description of a psychosocial instrument and a physiological instrument for a research proposal; and to synthesize course content with statistical criteria for scale evaluation and make decisions regarding scale revision. The domain sampling model is presented as the major theory of measurement error, with the parallel test model presented as a special case of the domain sampling model. The construct, criterion, and content validity of psychosocial instruments are explored, and methods for evaluating each of these relative to specific instruments are presented. A variety of scaling methodologies, as well as the principles involved in the design and formatting of questionnaires, will be discussed.

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MEDEDU 2080: Master's Thesis Research, 1-3 credit(s)
Trainees may register for this course with approval from the mentor and selected faculty of the Degree Granting Programs in Medical Education Curriculum Committee. The course is designed for trainees who are prepared to undertake their substantive research project or thesis.
MEDEDU 2100: Enhancing Teaching Skills, 2.0 credit(s)
This course will briefly review the basic principles of adult learning as they relate to clinician-educators but will devote the majority of the time to discussing, developing, and advancing teaching skills of clinician-educators. Using a combination of formal didactics, presentations by students, role playing, and videotape review, participants will have ample opportunity to refine their skills in case-based learning, teaching at the bedside, and teaching in small and large groups. Topics will also include setting goals and expectations, feedback and evaluation, and dealing with the student in need of remediation. MEDEDU 2100 is intended to complement the Medical Mind, Cognitive Studies in Medicine, and Enhanced Teaching Skills: Longitudinal Practicum, and, in an integrated fashion, provide comprehensive knowledge and experience to shape future teaching skills of the master teacher.

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MEDEDU 2110: Medical Mind, 1.0 credit(s)
The course is intended to serve as an intensive introduction to human information processing and a survey of its applications in medical practice and training. The course is also intended to provide a theoretical basis for research and practice in medical education.

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MEDEDU 2120: Professional Development, 1.0 credit(s)
Academic physicians who function as clinician-educators face career challenges unique to their career path. This course will provide future clinician-educators with information about these challenges so they are better prepared when starting their career. In addition, the course will provide specific skills to enhance the ability of clinician-educators to set goals, demonstrate their suitability for promotion, manage time effectively, and function in leadership roles.

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MEDEDU 2130: Curriculum Development, 1.0 credit(s)
This course is designed to explore and develop the principles of curriculum design, implementation, and evaluation. Students will learn the fundamentals of developing goals and objectives; performing a needs assessment for curriculum development; designing the most efficient teaching strategy, including lecture, workshop, and problem-based learning sessions; evaluating student performance, including both knowledge assessment and performance-based assessment; evaluating faculty performance and course success; and strategies for grading.

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MEDEDU 2131: Strategies for Dealing with the Problem Learner, 1.0 credit(s)
This course is designed to be a practical, hands-on approach to dealing with students who present with learning difficulties. Both didactic instruction and small-group problem solving for difficult learners will be presented. The goals for the course are to learn how to identify problem learners; to develop a differential diagnosis of problem learner behavior; to develop strategies for remediation and monitoring remediation; to review strategies for documentation and tracking of problem students; and to review issues of competency and promotion.
MEDEDU 2140: Medical Writing and Presentation Skills, 1.0 credit(s)
Medical educators and researchers must be able to present their work clearly and effectively. However, important educational material and research data are sometimes obscured by poorly delivered presentations or poorly written papers. The main objective of this course is to help students develop excellent medical writing and presentation skills. This objective will be achieved through a combination of lectures, readings, and individual and small-group projects in which students will practice specific skills. Students will have the opportunity to be videotaped while they present a talk and will receive anonymous written feedback.

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MEDEDU 2150: Medical Education: Current Practice, Administration, and Future Directions, 1.0 credit(s)
This course provides an overview of the practice of medical education in the United States, including issues affecting medical student curricula, residency training, and continuing medical education. We will examine forces shaping medical education by reviewing its history, financing, accreditation processes, social responsibility, and public accountability. Clinician-educator pathways will be presented, and promotion and tenure processes from this perspective will be summarized. The practical aspects of designing, implementing, and sustaining an educational program will be explored.

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MEDEDU 2160: Topics in Medical Education and Medical Education Research, 1.0 credit(s)
This seminar series includes critical discussions and evaluations of relevant topics in medical education and methods employed by researchers in medical education. The seminars on the first Wednesday of the month consist of topics that critically evaluate new teaching methods or educational curricula. The seminars on the third Wednesday of the month deal with topics in research methods in medical education and serve as a forum to present research in progress or completed research projects. Enrollees for this series are expected to present at one of these conferences during the year, having reviewed their presentation topic with the course director prior to the session. Attendance at 16 sessions is required for 1 credit.

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MEDEDU 2170: Making the Most of Mentoring, 1.0 credit(s)
We strongly believe that effective mentoring is the cornerstone of a successful academic career—whether it be in education, research, or clinical work. Good mentors are able to guide mentees as they attempt to navigate through the course of their careers. This course is designed to provide a basis for understanding the mentor-mentee relationship and to provide strategies for making the most out of the experience. Topics will include communication and negotiation, the use of mentoring contracts, providing and accepting feedback, evaluating the mentoring relationship, and solving problems and meeting challenges. Fellows, postdocs, other Institute for Clinical Research Education (ICRE) trainees, and junior faculty will discover useful ways to enhance the mentoring relationship and make it a rewarding experience both for the mentees and the mentors.

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MEDEDU 2180: Online Course Design, 1.0 credit(s)
This course is designed to aid in the creation of an online course. It provides a step-by-step guide to online course design from initial stages of objective and content development through final evaluation. Online course development and delivery allows educators to expand and build on previous live teaching expertise and personal learning philosophy. With guidance, that expertise can readily be transferred to an online setting. For those embarking on a new teaching career this course provides a template to develop a unique online course.
MEDEDU 2190: Teaching Across Teams, 1.0 credit(s)
This special educational course will provide a component that is rarely provided in medical education and often not in other health professions education. Trainees will: 1. Be able to describe the training that other health professionals receive and come to understand the purpose of multidisciplinary teams as well as each provider’s role on the team, 2. Review and practice critical communication skills necessary to build teams and negotiate conflict, 3. Learn educational methodology to assess team communication skills, and 4. Have the opportunity to participate in interdisciplinary learner teaching.

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MEDEDU 2201: Teaching Practicum: Outpatient Teaching, 1-3 credit(s)
Teaching in the outpatient setting is an important activity for clinician-educators in academic and community practice. This course involves 16–48 hours of observed outpatient clinical teaching. The student will identify a primary site and preceptor who will be responsible for observations and evaluations of teaching, will perform monthly evaluations, and will submit a formal summative evaluation at the conclusion of the observations. The student will submit a formal personal reflections response to the teaching experience, including plans for improvement in teaching skills.
MEDEDU 2202: Teaching Practicum: Inpatient Teaching, 1.0 credit(s)
Teaching in an inpatient setting is an important activity for clinician-educators in academic and community practice. This course involves 16 hours of observed clinical teaching on an inpatient service (including consult medicine). The student will identify a primary preceptor who will be responsible for observations and evaluations of clinical teaching in the sessions, an evaluation after each session, and a formal summative evaluation. The student will submit a formal personal reflections response to the teaching experience.
MEDEDU 2203: Teaching Practicum: Classroom Teaching, 0.5 credit(s)
Classroom teaching is an important activity for clinician-educators. This 0.5-credit course, in which students can enroll twice for a maximum of 1 credit, consists of 8 hours of observed and evaluated nonclinical classroom teaching, lecturing, or problem-based learning sessions. The student must identify and list teaching sessions and identify a primary preceptor who will be responsible for observation and evaluation of the teaching. Students will be evaluated after each session, and a formal summative evaluation by the primary preceptor will serve as the main determinant of the final grade. The student must also write a personal reflection essay on the teaching, including personal plans for continued improvement.
MEDEDU 2220: Teaching Evidence-Based Medicine, 1.0 credit(s)
This course will introduce the core concepts of evidence-based medicine (EBM) and will introduce methods to teach EBM in the clinical setting. The course will begin by reviewing the history of EBM and clinical epidemiology and describing how EBM became a new "paradigm of clinical practice." It will review the practices of EBM as they relate to clinical questions of therapy, diagnosis, prognosis, and harm. It will then describe the current approaches to teaching EBM and discuss the literature to support those approaches.

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MEDEDU 2230: Innovative Teaching Strategies, 2.0 credit(s)
This course is designed to enable medical educators to use information and telecommunications technology (ITT) to expand access to educational resources, implement new models of education, and enhance student and physician competence throughout the continuum of training and practice.

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MEDEDU 2240: Cultural Competence, 1.0 credit(s)
Cultural differences have always been integral to US society and represent a dynamic mixture of races, ethnicities, and beliefs. Indeed, these differences are one of the characteristics most associated with Americans overseas. Only recently has there been recognition of the importance of these cultural differences in medical education. Therefore, there is still some confusion in medical academia regarding what the focus should be and why cultural competence is now of interest to the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the accrediting body for allopathic medical schools, universities, managed care organizations, and various governmental bodies. This course is designed to explore the impact of diversity on the training of physicians and other health care providers.

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MEDEDU 2250: Teaching Communication Skills, 2.0 credit(s)
The most common thing that a physician does in his or her career is communicate with patients. This is the method that physicians use to gather information for the medical history, educate patients about their illness, and obtain informed consent regarding the various therapeutic options. During the past 25 years, doctor-patient communication has received increasing attention in medical education. Every medical school currently has a course focusing on communication skills, and many internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatric programs devote attention to these skills. The new ACGME requirements list communication skills as one of their six major focuses. In the future, physicians will need to be able to document their communications skills for certification and licensure. Over the past 10 years, there have been increasing data regarding the efficacy of educational interventions to improve physician communication skills. Courses at the medical school level and at the residency level need to incorporate these data to develop evidence-based interventions. The point of this course is to ensure that medical educators both understand the data and have the practical skills needed to design and teach communication courses.

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MEDEDU 2260: Seminar Series in Medical Education, 1.0 credit(s)
This course allows students the flexibility to choose among three established seminar series in medical education and to attend specific topics of interest and relevance to their teaching roles. The seminar series are the Medical Educational Research Methods and Innovative Designs (MERMAID) Series, the Academy of Master Educators (AME) Seminar Series, and Medical Education Grand Rounds. Specific information about dates and current and past topics for each series can be found on the series Web sites. To receive credit, students must document their attendance at 16 sessions. To promote active learning and enhance the relevance of the topics to teaching, the enrollees for this course will be required to choose one skill or learning point from any of the 16 sessions attended and write a one-page (maximum) paper describing how this skill or learning point was implemented in one of their teaching assignments or activities and also describing the outcome. This paper needs to be completed prior to credit allocation and submitted to the course director.

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MEDEDU 2320: Clinical Problem Solving and Medical Decision Making, 1.0 credit(s)
The process by which physicians make decisions is complicated and multifactorial. Understanding this process is critical for teaching the principles of clinical problem solving and medical decision making. Many theories and strategies have been put forward to better elucidate the process. The overall goals of this course are to introduce the learner to the principles of adult learning, to demonstrate how the principles are applied in the medical arena, and to develop strategies for teaching problem-solving and medical decision-making skills in the clinical setting.

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PHARMACY

PHARM 2001: Pharmaceutical Analysis, 3.0 credit(s)
This course focuses on current methods used in pharmaceutical research for the analysis and isolation of drugs and their metabolites. It discusses theories of extraction, solvent partition, and forms of chromatography (absorption, partition, gas, liquid, countercurrent, ion exchange, gel filtration, and electrophoresis).
PHARM 3027: Interactions of Drug and Disease: Kinetic and Dynamic Issues, 1-2 credit(s)
The course involves a discussion of current topics of interest in the area of pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism.

PSYCHOLOGY

PSY 2252: Psychological Therapies: Behavioral Medicine Interventions, 2.0 credit(s)
This graduate course examines the history and current status of psychological therapies designed for health risk prevention and management of physical diseases. Areas emphasized are risk factor modification, secondary prevention and rehabilitation, coping with medical illness and procedures, and community public health interventions. Critical evaluation of research on these topics will be stressed.
PSY 2502: Health Fundamentals, 3.0 credit(s)
This is a 3-credit seminar intended for graduate trainees in biological and health psychology. Key conceptual and methodologic issues in several major areas of concentration will be presented and discussed in a seminar format, in the context of current research. Requirements include active class discussion, brief presentations, and completion of papers that summarize and critique current issues in each area of concentration. The areas of concentration will include cardiovascular behavioral medicine, psychoneuroimmunology and behavioral oncology, addictions and health behavior, and health cognition.
PSY 2520: Psychoneuroimmunology, 3.0 credit(s)
This course provides a general background in the new interdisciplinary area of research dealing with effects of physical and psychological stress on the ability of the immune system to withstand illness and disease. Emphasis is on experimental studies that demonstrate ways in which environmental factors alter the immunocompetence of animals and humans and on neural and endocrine factors that may mediate these effects. The course will discuss the possible significance of nervous system immune system interactions for development of disease states such as cancer.
PSY 2530: Social Psychology and Health, 3.0 credit(s)
A major direction of health psychology is the study of the effects of social phenomena on the maintenance of good health and the development of disease. An example is the effect that support from family and friends has on coping with stress or with illness, on the risk for illness, and on the development of health beliefs. Topics covered include theory and research on emotion, social comparison, risk perceptions, adherence to prevention or curative prescription, social support, and attribution theory as related to health and illness.
PSY 2532: Health Judgment and Decision Making, 3.0 credit(s)
This course will focus on the area of health cognition that addresses how thinking and reasoning processes are related to health behavior and illness. It begins with a review of how cognitive processes such as risk perception, cost-benefit analysis, judgmental heuristics, norm perceptions, cognitive dissonance, and control perceptions are related to the adoption of healthy and unhealthy behaviors and the processing of health information. We will also consider the concurrent influence of motivational and affective influences such as defensiveness. Attention will be devoted to how people make health-related decisions (such as whether to screen for cancer), how they respond to health communications, how they mentally represent illness, and the extent to which cognitions determine the course of illness and recovery from illness.
PSY 2560: Human Cardiovascular Psychophysiology, 4.0 credit(s)
Cardiovascular psychophysiology examines the influences of psychological processes on cardiovascular function. The course examines evidence supporting three perspectives on psychological processes related to cardiovascular function: a stress-arousal perspective, an information-processing perspective, and a metabolic needs perspective.
PSY 3245: Seminar in Addiction, 3.0 credit(s)
This seminar will explore addictive behaviors and will discuss theories on the physiologic and behavioral basis of dependence, advances in treatment, and related issues. The primary focus will be on opiate addiction, alcohol use, tobacco smoking, and eating disorders. The emphasis will be on the commonalities and differences among the addictions. A major theme will be the self-control of addictive behavior.