Sept. 26, 2003

VCU officially kicks off the first epidemiology doctoral program in Virginia

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By Michael Ford
University News Services

Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health officially kicked off the first and only Ph.D. program in epidemiology in Virginia. Genetics, biology, pathology and statistics are among the areas covered by the multi-disciplinary program that will provide advanced training in the causes and prevention of diseases in populations and the evaluation of interventions, diagnostic tests and the effectiveness of treatments.

Dr. Emmanuel Anum (center left), district epidemiologist, Chesterfield Health Department, the first student accepted in VCU's rigorous epidemiology doctoral program, receives a hearty welcome from Dr. Tilahun Adera (left), chair of preventive medicine and community health, Dr. Elizabeth Eustis-Turf (center right), director, Ph.D. in Epidemiology program, and Dr. Doug Boudinot (right), dean of graduate studies. Photo by Michael Ford, University News Services
Dr. Emmanuel Anum (center left), district epidemiologist, Chesterfield Health Department, the first student accepted in VCU's rigorous epidemiology doctoral program, receives a hearty welcome from Dr. Tilahun Adera (left), chair of preventive medicine and community health, Dr. Elizabeth Eustis-Turf (center right), director, Ph.D. in Epidemiology program, and Dr. Doug Boudinot (right), dean of graduate studies. Photo by Michael Ford, University News Services

Calling epidemiology the key discipline of public health, Tilahun Adera, Ph.D., VCU chair of preventive medicine and community health, said the new program comes at a time when there are new demands on the nation's public health system to improve its infrastructure and deal with bioterrorism and new infectious disease threats. He said new highly trained epidemiologists will be able to do research, practice public health and protect the public's health with surveillance programs.

"For VCU to provide this new program in Virginia is important, but for VCU itself it is going to attract high caliber researchers and high caliber students to be trained here at VCU," said Adera, a professor in the VCU School of Medicine. "I think this will help attract research grants and contracts from federal sources and other private agencies because we will have a cadre of epidemiologists who train these students, but also who will do important research in their own fields."

The new Ph.D. program has an interdisciplinary curriculum with collaborative input from several VCU departments: biostatistics, statistical sciences and operations research, internal medicine, the Center for Public Policy and the Virginia Department of Health.

The new program will accept three students per year, with total enrollment expected at 12-15 students within five years. Full-time students are expected to finish within four to five years, and part-time students must finish within seven years.

The State Council of Higher Education approved VCU's request for the new program in mid July. The first student in the doctoral program is Emanuel Anum, M.D., district epidemiologist at the Chesterfield Health Department and a 2001 graduate of VCU's Master of Public Health program.

To learn more about the Ph.D. in epidemiology program, visit www.commed.vcu.edu/.