Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) Courses

Research rotations are defined periods of research experience under the direction of a faculty member. They are intended to familiarize the student with concepts and techniques in several areas of research and to assist the student in evaluating research laboratories and projects that might be developed into a dissertation project. The student will participate in an ongoing research project, gain familiarity with concepts underlying the research, acquire a working knowledge of techniques used in the research, and write a report and present an oral summary of the results of the research.

Credits: 2-5

Fulfills an elective requirement: No

Course Director: Varies

Semester Offered: Fall, Spring

Last Taught: Taught every Fall and Spring semester

This course will expose students to a variety of topics related to cellular metabolism. The course will cover material ranging from foundational principles to current leading-edge research. The principles and mechanisms regulating metabolism will be explored from multiple perspectives, including biochemistry, biophysics, genetics, molecular biology and cell biology. 

Credits: 2

Prerequisite(s): None

Fulfills an elective requirement: Yes

Course Director: Brian Lewis and Dohoon Kim

Semester Offered: Fall

Last Taught: Fall 2025

Research rotations are defined periods of research experience under the direction of a faculty member. They are intended to familiarize the student with concepts and techniques in several areas of research and to assist the student in evaluating research laboratories and projects that might be developed into a dissertation project. The student will participate in an on-going research project; gain familiarity with concepts underlying the research; acquire a working knowledge of techniques used in the research; and write a report and present an oral summary of the results of the research.

Credits: 2-4

Course Director: Faculty member in whose research group the student is working

Semester Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

Last Taught: Taught every Fall, Spring, and Summer

Building on graduate-level introductory epidemiology knowledge and scientific research methods, this course will cover research designs (clinical trial, cohort, case-control), explore the methodological strengths and weaknesses of various designs, and evaluate threats to the validity of major research designs. Students will have three examinations and weekly assignments that critique research approaches to specific scientific and clinical questions.

Credits: 3

Prerequisite(s): CTS605A or at least two graduate level courses in epidemiology and biostatistics

Course Director: Maira CastanedaAvila

Semester Offered: Spring

Last Taught: Spring 2025

The purpose of this class is to learn advanced epidemiologic techniques, to learn how and when to apply them, and to learn to design rigorous epidemiologic studies.  Students will gain experience in reading the primary epidemiologic methods literature. Course objectives will be met through class lecture, class discussion, problem sets, exams, application of selected principles to one’s research and the development of a mini-lecture.

Credits: 3

Prerequisite(s): CTS602A

Course Director: Kate Lapane

Semester Offered: Spring

Last Taught: Has not been taught in past 2 years.

This course reviews basic principles of epidemiology and biostatistics. The course reviews the application of various observational and experimental research designs and strategies to clinical, epidemiological, and translational research. Didactic instruction, readings, and problem sets (including lab-based analyses) are used to more fully understand epidemics and their causes, as well as various study designs, including cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, cohort designs, and randomized clinical trials. Students also will learn basic principles of biostatistics and will be introduced to STATA for statistical computing. Students are graded on exams, problem sets, and lab assignments.

Credits: 3

Prerequisite(s): None

Course Director: Robert Goldberg

Semester Offered: Fall

Last Taught: Fall 2024