Research at Fox Chase »Postdoctoral Research Program »Fellowships and Openings

Lecture 1: "Overview of Epidemiologic Methods" by Joanne Dorgan, PhD, MPH

Topics: Incidence, prevalence, and mortality rates will be defined and approaches for standardization of rates will be discussed. Sources of information on US and international cancer rates will be identified. Different types of epidemiologic studies, including cross-sectional, case-control, cohort, and clinical trials, will be introduced and their strengths and weaknesses will be described. The concept of bias will be introduced and common sources of bias in epidemiologic studies will be discussed. Examples from the literature will be used to illustrate concepts.

Learning Objectives: At the completion of this module, the trainee will be able to discuss the epidemiologic characteristics of one or more cancers, interpret epidemiologic studies reported in the medical literature and conceptualize risk for a given individual.

Lecture 2: "Case-control and Cohort Studies" by David Weinberg, MD, MSc

Topics: Design and conduct of case-control and cohort studies will be examined. Importance of case definition and identification of appropriate controls will be emphasized. Issues related to sample size, study power and data collection methods, including questionnaire and laboratory methods, will be discussed. The concept of risk will be introduced and methods for estimating risk, including relative risk and odds ratio, will be demonstrated and their interpretation discussed. Examples from the instructor's research and scientific literature will be used to illustrate concepts.

Learning Objectives: At completion of this module, the trainee will have a basic understanding of epidemiologic methods. The trainee will understand the difference between incidence and prevalence rates, will be familiar with the different types of epidemiologic studies and will be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and sources of bias. The trainee will also be familiar with issues in the design, conduct, and analysis of case-control and cohort studies.

Lecture 3: "Nutrition and Cancer" by Marilyn Tseng, PhD

Topics: Overview of primary dietary factors linked to major cancers; current topics in diet and cancer; sources of evidence for diet-cancer hypotheses, including ecologic, case-control, and cohort studies; introduction to evaluation of nutritional epidemiologic literature, including study design and issues in measurement of foods and nutrients.

Learning Objectives: At completion of this module, the trainee will have a broad view of the major hypotheses relating dietary factors to cancer risk, will be able to describe and evaluate the most common methods of measurement of dietary intake, and will be able to describe the major sources of error particular to nutritional epidemiologic studies.