Course Description
This course introduces students to the impacts of global environmental change on emerging infectious disease spread, familiarizes them with tools for mapping data and monitoring current science, and provides opportunities to apply this knowledge to scientific investigation, communication, and informed citizenship.
The course is organized into three sections. We begin with core concepts of emerging infectious disease transmission within an ecological framework. Students explore drivers of environmental change (e.g., urbanization, travel, trade, agriculture, and climate change) and their influence on disease dynamics through case studies. We also examine cascading effects of environmental change, including the roles of biodiversity and landscape structure in disease spillover and transmission, and discuss the policy context of infectious disease control and cross-sector collaboration.
The second section focuses on surveillance, response, and communication. Guest speakers from local health departments and media outlets share perspectives on communicating health risks and associated challenges. Students practice science communication through interviews with journalism students.
The final section introduces methods for investigating environmentally related infectious diseases. Students engage with primary literature on landscape epidemiology, spatial analysis (GIS/remote sensing), and dynamic modeling; use open-source GIS tools; and work with secondary data sources to address scientific questions. The course culminates in an applied research proposal, including objectives, methods, budget, timeline, and maps.
Throughout the course, students engage with current scientific issues and develop communication skills through individual and group assignments. Examples of past work can be found at #EnvIDF14.
Course Objectives
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Describe the large-scale environmental change drivers of emerging infectious disease spread, and the economic, social, and political factors that create these environmental changes
- Explain the connections between characteristics of an ecosystem and risk of infectious disease transmission
- Summarize the entities responsible for surveillance and regulation of contributors to emerging infectious disease spread
- Discuss the role of the laboratory in emerging infectious disease monitoring and investigations
- Describe similarities and differences between protocols and methods used for an outbreak response of known and unknown pathogens
- Evaluate methods for surveillance of infectious diseases and identify limitations of surveillance data based on the data collection protocol
- Critically read, summarize and evaluate scientific research articles
- Facilitate a discussion about a previously unfamiliar topic
- Identify reputable sources for current news on environmentally-related infectious disease (and general science) topics
- Integrate bi-weekly news scans into their regular schedule
- Distill complex scientific information into key messages and design infographics as a method for science communication
- Compare and contrast goals and motives of organizations, formulate proposals for collaboration to benefit public health, and justify the mutual benefit of the proposal based on the organizations’ goals
- Design a scientific investigation based on the current literature
- Communicate the significance of a scientific problem and the methods of a research study designed to investigate the problem to the media
- Utilize scientific, creative, and reflective writing to convey ideas
- Identify, critique, and utilize secondary data to investigate environmentally-related infectious diseases
Student Feedback
- Micah Hahn is a great professor. Although this class was a lot of work, I would take it again if I did a do-over. I feel like I actually got the bang for my buck!
- This was a very interactive and interesting class. The instructor has so much passion for the subject and it is contagious. She really tailored her teachings and assignments to all types of learners.
- I very much enjoyed this course, both the organization and the topics covered. I learned a lot about the topic as well as took away many useful skills.
- I would recommend this course to public health students or any students interested in the topic.
- This class taught me so much and really opened by eyes to possible future careers. We covered such a broad range of topics and I learned som new skills along the way.
- Dr. Hahn’s class was awesome and Dr. Hahn is amazing. This was definitely one of my favorite classes. I defintely want to take one of her classes again.
- Dr. Hahn exposed us to different tools to practice public health. I learned a lot. The homework was fun and dynamic.
- This was a great class. Very practically applicable to the real world and our future professions. Micah is a great professor and resource for students. She genuinely wanted us to learn and have tools to use from this class. One of my favorite classes in my entire collegiate career.
- Dr. Hahn was a wonderful teacher, and I found the course to be beneficial in increasing my knowledge and interest in infectious diseases! I would like to see Dr. Hahn teach more classes in the public health program at CSU.
- This was one of the best classes I’ve taken at CSU! Micah is an awesome professor and provided us with good assignments that really helped prepare us for future careers in public health.
- This class was one of my favorite classes this semester. I liked how the class covered a wide variety of topics. The breadth of different assignments gave me a broad view of public health.
- I loved this course. I feel like I learned a lot of real, applicable skills for the future. Micah is an awesome professor. She is very knowledgeable, fair, and really passionate. This course was designed for us to be succesful while also learning a lot.