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Program Requirements
This program provides in-depth training for graduate students on pharmacoepidemiologic methods and the application of these methods to study the population effects (benefits and harm) of pharmaceutical products. Students will acquire the skills to become independent investigators and conduct original research in pharmacoepidemiology. Career opportunities for graduates are multiple and include work in industry, government, or academia. Students will be required to participate in the Pharmacoepidemiology Journal Club. Research topics must be related to pharmacoepidemiology and approved by the program coordinating committee.
Students admitted to the Ph.D. in Epidemiology; Pharmacoepidemiology degree program with the equivalent of the M.Sc. in Epidemiology at McGill will be required to take a minimum of 32 credits of Ph.D. courses.
In addition to the Ph.D. requirements, students admitted to the Ph.D. degree program without the equivalent of an M.Sc. in Epidemiology at McGill will, in their first year, have to complete required coursework equivalent to the Master's Epidemiology program, excluding thesis course(s), as determined by the Department.
Thesis
A thesis for the doctoral degree must constitute original scholarship and must be a distinct contribution to knowledge. It must show familiarity with previous work in the field and must demonstrate ability to plan and carry out research, organize results, and defend the approach and conclusions in a scholarly manner. The research presented must meet current standards of the discipline; as well, the thesis must clearly demonstrate how the research advances knowledge in the field. Finally, the thesis must be written in compliance with norms for academic and scholarly expression and for publication in the public domain.
Required Courses (26 credits)
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EPIB 604 Epidemiologic Analysis (3 credits)
Overview
Epidemiology & Biostatistics : Estimation of epidemiologic effect measures and their confidence intervals in a variety of different study designs. Emphasis on analysis of sample data sets using regression models, graphical and tabular presentation of results, causal interpretation of effect estimates, writing reports for scientific publications, and sensitivity analyses for violated assumptions.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Kaufman, Jay (Fall)
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EPIB 608 Advanced Epidemiology (3 credits)
Overview
Epidemiology & Biostatistics : Discussion of methodologic issues in the recent literature, including causal inference, measures of disease frequency, measures of effect, epidemiologic study designs, biases, statistics in epidemiology, and special topics. Discussion of day to day practice of epidemiology. Offered in alternate years or yearly depending on demand.
Terms: Winter 2017
Instructors: Infante-Rivard, Claire; Chevrier, Jonathan (Winter)
Prerequisite: EPIB 604
Restriction: Open to Ph.D. students in Epidemiology or Biostatistics programs only
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EPIB 609 Seminar on Advanced Methods in Epidemiology (3 credits)
Overview
Epidemiology & Biostatistics : A seminar course on selected topics in advanced epidemiological methods, such as concepts of causation, casual inference and residual confounding.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Chevrier, Jonathan (Fall)
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EPIB 610 Advanced Methods: Causal Inference (3 credits)
Overview
Epidemiology & Biostatistics : Conceptual and methodological issues in epidemiology and biostatistics related to causal inference.
Terms: Winter 2017
Instructors: Platt, Robert William (Winter)
Prerequisite (s): EPIB 608, or equivalent, or permission of instructor
Restriction (s): Restricted to Ph.D. students in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health
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EPIB 623 Research Design in Health Sciences (3 credits)
Overview
Epidemiology & Biostatistics : Lectures and discussions plus oral and written presentations by students, to provide guidance and experience in the development of objectives, for the formulation and constructive peer criticism of designs for research in the health sciences, including etiologic and evaluative, cross-sectional, case-reference and cohort studies.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Wolfson, Christina (Fall)
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EPIB 631 Pharmacoepidemiology 2 (2 credits)
Overview
Epidemiology & Biostatistics : An advanced course on the methodology to be used when confronted with an alleged adverse or beneficial event related to a drug, a vaccine or a biological product. It includes four parts: i) designs for etiological research; ii) surveillance (modelling, statistical appraisal); iii) hazard functions in pharmacoepidemiology; iv) exposure assessment.
Terms: Summer 2017
Instructors: Azoulay, Laurent; Filion, Kristian (Summer)
Offered only in Summer term.
Prerequisites: EPIB 633, or instructor's permission, and basic knowledge of epidemiology and biostatistics
Due to the intensive nature of this course, the standard add/drop and withdrawal deadlines do not apply. Add/drop is the first lecture day and withdrawal is the second lecture day.
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EPIB 639 Pharmacoepidemiologic Methods (4 credits)
Overview
Epidemiology & Biostatistics : The objective of this course is to provide students with an in-depth review of the methods and principles of pharmacoepidemiology. Topics covered include themes related to the potential data sources, appropriate exposure definitions, the use of active drug comparators, latency and the application of lag periods, reverse causality, detection bias, methodological considerations in the assessment of acute versus chronic outcomes, new-user designs, healthy-user effects, and non-traditional study designs (e.g., within-user designs). In addition, the role of confounding and methods used to minimize its effects, such as the use of propensity scores, instrumental variables, and marginal structural models will be discussed.
Terms: Winter 2017
Instructors: Azoulay, Laurent (Winter)
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EPIB 654 Pharmacoepidemiology 4 (2 credits)
Overview
Epidemiology & Biostatistics : The utility of epidemiological techniques for the assessment of drug benefits after their marketing is presented. The course is composed of four parts: (i) methodology of Phase IV studies (efficacy and effectiveness studies); (ii) measurement of quality of life; (iii) evaluation of the economic impact of drugs; (iv) assessment of the effects of drugs and vaccines on the public health system.
Terms: Summer 2017
Instructors: Caro, Jaime J (Summer)
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EPIB 661 Pharmacoepidemiology 3 (2 credits)
Overview
Epidemiology & Biostatistics : In this course, students are confronted with real examples of pharmaco-epidemiologic problems. Flagship studies in pharmaco-epidemiology are reviewed in terms of protocol, design issues, data collection, statistical analysis and interpretation of results.
Terms: Summer 2017
Instructors: Suissa, Samy; Ernst, Pierre (Summer)
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EPIB 662 Pharmacological Basis of Pharmacoepidemiology (1 credit)
Overview
Epidemiology & Biostatistics : The objective of this course is to provide students with an indepth review of the principles of pharmacology which are essential for the design, analysis and critical appraisal of studies in pharmacoepidemiology.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Prerequisite(s): EPIB 633, or equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
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EPIB 701 Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination
Overview
Epidemiology & Biostatistics : The comprehensive examination is a written examination. The objective is to assess the degree to which students have been able to assimilate and apply the principles of epidemiologic research. Examinations held twice yearly.
Terms: Summer 2017
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
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EPIB 702 Ph.D. Proposal
Overview
Epidemiology & Biostatistics : Essential skills for thesis writing and defence, including essential elements of research protocols, formulation of research objectives, the design, and strategies.
Terms: Fall 2016, Winter 2017
Instructors: Kramer, Michael; Abrahamowicz, Michal (Fall) Kramer, Michael; Abrahamowicz, Michal (Winter)
Note: Required for Ph.D. students.
Complementary Courses (6 credits)
Revision, September 2016. Start of revision.
6 credits of coursework, at the 500 level or higher, with a minimum of 3 credits in ethics (medical/public health/research), 3 credits in biostatistics. Courses must be chosen in consultation with the student’s supervisor and/or the degree program’s director or adviser.
Revision, September 2016. End of revision.
Faculty of Medicine—2016-2017 (last updated Aug. 26, 2016) (disclaimer)