Curriculum

Instructor:

Professor Iyas Masannat, [email protected]

Course Description:

This seminar is designed to provide fundamental and advanced knowledge about the pharmacology and underlying causes of addiction in the most impactful substances of use and misuse in the U.S. Topics include: opioids and prescription drugs, marijuana, and cocaine among other substances. This class also aims to introduce the students to current research issues related to substance use and treatment of addiction.

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INSTRUCTOR:

Professor Maria Luisa Zuniga, [email protected]

Course Description:

This course is designed to provide students with an advanced technical understanding of the etiology, epidemiology and prevention and treatment of substance use and related problems. The course consists of three units reflecting the topical foci and will include: Lectures (guest and by the professor), discussions, and student presentations.

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Instructor:

Professor Eileen Pitpitan, [email protected]

Course Description:

The purpose of this course is to prepare students to conduct research with focus on substance use topics. This course is designed to introduce students to the process of research as a sequence of events & characterize different approaches to experimental and non-experimental substance use research. Students will learn how to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of various research designs and methods, understand measurement issues, including those related to reliability and validity.

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Instructor:

Course Description:

Applications of advanced statistical methods for analysis of public health and biomedical data. Topics include multiple linear regression, analysis of variance, logistic regression, and introduction to survival analysis.

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Instructor:

Course Description:

Understanding and addressing the social gradient in health through the lens of social epidemiology. To include key literature, conceptual frameworks, study design, analytic methods and behavioral, structural, and multi-level interventions to address social health inequities.

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Instructor:

Professor Karen Ferran, [email protected]

Course Description:

Advanced programming in SAS. Higher-level analyses, processing, and readings of biomedical data. Formerly numbered as P H 629.

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Instructor:

Professor Iyas Masannat, [email protected]

Course Description:

This seminar is designed to provide fundamental and advanced knowledge about the pharmacology and underlying causes of addiction in the most impactful substances of use and misuse in the U.S. Topics include: opioids and prescription drugs, marijuana, and cocaine among other substances. This class also aims to introduce the students to current research issues related to substance use and treatment of addiction.

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Instructor:

Professor Eileen Pitpitan, [email protected]

Course Description:

Current social and behavioral science theories to understand health-related behavior & how theories can guide the development of behavior change interventions to reduce negative health behaviors. We will take an ecological focus (i.e., person-in-environment) for this course and will focus on the application of health behavior theory at multiple levels (person, group, community, etc.). Particular emphasis will be given to discussing health-related disparities to explain health behavior.

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Instructor:

Professor Maria Luisa Zuniga, [email protected]

Course Description:

The seminar advances understanding of policies and research related to health and substance use in the U.S.-Mexico border region and among migrant populations (e.g. deportation policies on substance use behavior). Students explore the intersection of substance use research, policy & substance use risk. This course uses research and a policy analysis framework to promote student critical thinking about the impact of alcohol and drugs and related policies on substance use behavior and co-occurring conditions (e.g. mental health, TB, HIV, poverty). Through seminar discussions and written assignments students will analyze current policies and develop evidence-based policy.

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Instructor:

Professor John Alcaraz, [email protected]

Course Description:

Statistical methods for multivariate problems in public health including regression diagnostics, cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, principal components, multivariate discrete analysis and Poisson regression. Computer applications included. Formerly numbered as P H 628.

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Instructor:

Jesse Goldshear,  PhD

Course Description:

This course introduces students to the key elements for designing and evaluating applied substance use research as it relates to (1) longitudinal cohort studies, (2) community-engaged research, and (3) technology-supported methods for assessing the effects of substance use on the brain and behavior. For each applied approach, students will examine common study designs used to investigate determinants, processes, and outcomes of substance use. Emphasis will be placed on aligning study design, data collection strategies, and outcomes in applied field, community, and technology-facilitated research contexts. Students develop skills in specifying rigorous applied research approaches, including participant and data source selection, measurement strategies, sample size and power considerations, core elements of an appropriate analysis plan, and key ethical considerations. The course culminates in the development of an NIH-style “Approach” section that demonstrates rigor, validity, and feasibility for an applied substance use research proposal

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Instructor:

Jamila Stockman, PhD, and Kiyomi Tsuyuki,  PhD

Course Description:

This course takes an interdisciplinary look at the relationship between culture and health in diverse sociostructural contexts.

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Instructor:

Borsika Rabin, PhD, Nicole Stadnick, PhD, and Gregory Aarons, PhD

Course Description:

This course will emphasize the unique aspects of dissemination and implementation research, including the types of questions it seeks to answer, the outcomes examined and how they differ from other types of studies, the models and frameworks commonly used, and the qualitative and quantitative methods employed.

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Instructor:

Stephanie Meyers-Pantele, PhD

Course Description:

This course aims to introduce students to the core components of intervention development and evaluation and how they are applied to design interventions that address social determinants of substance use-related inequities, as well as interventions that support substance use prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and remission. Students will be expected to learn how to develop a rigorous approach section for an NIH-style grant that accounts for the rigor and validity of the intervention design, including specification of comparison/control and intervention dose, frequency and duration, participant selection,  measurement, sample size justification, basic elements of the corresponding intervention design’s analysis section, and key ethical considerations. Students will be expected to learn how to develop a rigorous approach section for an NIH-style grant that accounts for the rigor and validity of the intervention design, including specification of comparison/control and intervention dose, frequency and duration, participant selection,  measurement, sample size justification, basic elements of the corresponding intervention design’s analysis section, and key ethical considerations.

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Instructor:

Laura Bamford, MD and Laramie Smith, PhD

Course Description:

This course will provide an overview of current and emerging harm reduction practices and clinical approaches to diagnosing and treating substance use disorders (SUDs), including behavioral and pharmaceutical interventions. This didactic training will be completed with an immersive learning experience through an observership with Owen Clinic faculty, which allows students to observe SUD clinical care practices in the clinical setting and gain insights into the real-world implementation of SUD clinical care and treatment management. Students will be expected to critically evaluate a continuum of strategies that advance our responses to SUD in community and clinical settings across system, provider, and patient outcomes and to articulate how various study designs and methodological factors contribute to the rigor, validity, and ethical considerations in future research.

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Instructor:

Samantha Hurst, PhD

Course Description:

The aim of this course is to introduce graduate students to the strengths and appropriate use of qualitative research and analysis methods, with specific application to public health research and policy. The course will use a combination of didactic, group, interactive, and applied techniques to teach knowledge and skills relevant to qualitative research. Lecture will present on the theory and ethical use of qualitative methods.

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Instructor:

Kathryn Barker, PhD

Course Description:

This course focuses on the design and evaluation of theory-informed, multilevel substance use research. Students examine common study designs used to investigate substance use–related determinants, processes, and outcomes across multiple levels, including individual, relational, community, institutional, and policy contexts. Emphasis is placed on aligning theory, level of inference, study design, and data collection strategies, as well as addressing the interdependence of nested and clustered data. Students develop skills in specifying rigorous multilevel research approaches, including participant and data source selection, measurement strategies, sample size and power considerations, core elements of an appropriate analysis plan, and key ethical considerations. The course culminates in the development of an NIH-style “Approach” section that demonstrates rigor, validity, and feasibility for a multilevel substance use research proposal.

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Instructor:

Samantha Hurst, PhD

Course Description:

This course will provide an introduction to the definition, design, and practice of mixed methods research. Mixed methods approaches are becoming increasingly common in many research areas, especially in public health because of the combined use of qualitative and quantitative data sets. This course will teach you to meaningfully integrate the two and takes an applied focus.

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Instructor:

Britt Skaathun, PhD, MPH, and Adriane Wynn, PhD, MPP

Course Description:

This course aims to train students to develop scientifically rigorous NIH-style grant proposals that address key ethical considerations in substance use research.  Students will be taught how to integrate components of their previous training to write a competitive R-level NIH-style grant which includes developing a empirically an theoretically-informed significance section, identifying the proposals key innovations, and key elements of applying common study designs in the grants approach section that accounts for the rigor and validity of the study’s design, participant selection, measurement, sample size justification, and the basic elements of the corresponding intervention design’s analysis section. IRSU JDP students will use this course to prepare for their written comprehensive exams and to develop their dissertation proposals. This course requires all IRSU JDP students to have their dissertation committee approved by GEPA and their dissertation topic approved by their primary mentor prior to enrolling.

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