Molecular Epidemiology


Book Description

This book will serve as a primer for both laboratory and field scientists who are shaping the emerging field of molecular epidemiology. Molecular epidemiology utilizes the same paradigm as traditional epidemiology but uses biological markers to identify exposure, disease or susceptibility. Schulte and Perera present the epidemiologic methods pertinent to biological markers. The book is also designed to enumerate the considerations necessary for valid field research and provide a resource on the salient and subtle features of biological indicators.




Molecular Tools and Infectious Disease Epidemiology


Book Description

Molecular Tools and Infectious Disease Epidemiology examines the opportunities and methodologic challenges in the application of modern molecular genetic and biologic techniques to infectious disease epidemiology. The application of these techniques dramatically improves the measurement of disease and putative risk factors, increasing our ability to detect and track outbreaks, identify risk factors and detect new infectious agents. However, integration of these techniques into epidemiologic studies also poses new challenges in the design, conduct, and analysis. This book presents the key points of consideration when integrating molecular biology and epidemiology; discusses how using molecular tools in epidemiologic research affects program design and conduct; considers the ethical concerns that arise in molecular epidemiologic studies; and provides a context for understanding and interpreting scientific literature as a foundation for subsequent practical experience in the laboratory and in the field. The book is recommended for graduate and advanced undergraduate students studying infectious disease epidemiology and molecular epidemiology; and for the epidemiologist wishing to integrate molecular techniques into his or her studies. - Presents the key points of consideration when integrating molecular biology and epidemiology - Discusses how using molecular tools in epidemiologic research affects program design and conduct - Considers the ethical concerns that arise in molecular epidemiologic studies - Provides a context for understanding and interpreting scientific literature as a foundation for subsequent practical experience in the laboratory and in the field




Molecular Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases


Book Description

Designed as both a textbook and a reference, this book outlines the principles, methods, and application of this new discipline of public health. Techniques used in the field of molecular biology have been recognized as critical tools in solving infectious disease problems. This introductory volume, distinguishing molecular epidemiology from taxonomy and phylogeny, will familiarize epidemiologists with molecular biology and molecular biologists with epidemiology, and presents vocabulary and concepts of both fields to infectious disease clinicians.




Molecular Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases


Book Description

"I think this is an excellent book–I recommend it to anyone involved in molecular epidemiology... The 26 chapters are written by topic specialists, in an explanatory, east to read style." –BTS Newsletter, Summer 2009 "This text provides an accessible and useful handbook for the epidemiologist who wants to survey the field, to become better informed, to look at recent developments and get some background on these or simply to appreciate further the relatively rapid changes in informatic and analytical technologies which increasingly will serve and underpin future epidemiological studies. One of the strengths in this book is the extensive array of practical illustrative examples, and it would also in my opinion have useful potential as a teaching text." –American Journal of Human Biology, March 2009 With the sequencing of the human genome and the mapping of millions of single nucleotide polymorphisms, epidemiology has moved into the molecular domain. Scientists can now use molecular markers to track disease-associated genes in populations, enabling them to study complex chronic diseases that might result from the weak interactions of many genes with the environment. Use of these laboratory generated biomarker data and an understanding of disease mechanisms are increasingly important in elucidating disease aetiology. Molecular Epidemiology of Disease crosses the disciplinary boundaries between laboratory scientists, epidemiologists, clinical researchers and biostatisticians and is accessible to all these relevant research communities in focusing on practical issues of application, rather than reviews of current areas of research. Covers categories of biomarkers of exposure, susceptibility and disease Includes chapters on novel technologies: genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabonomics, which are increasingly finding application in population studies Emphasizes new statistical and bioinformatics approaches necessitated by the large data sets generated using these new methodologies Demonstrates the potential applications of laboratory techniques in tackling epidemiological problems while considering their limitations, including the sources of uncertainty and inaccuracy Discusses issues such as reliability (compared to traditional epidemiological methods) and the timing of exposure Explores practical elements of conducting population studies, including biological repositories and ethics Molecular Epidemiology of Disease provides an easy-to-use, clearly presented handbook that allows epidemiologists to understand the specifics of research involving biomarkers, and laboratory scientists to understand the main issues of epidemiological study design and analysis. It also provides a useful tool for courses on molecular epidemiology, using many examples from population studies to illustrate key concepts and principles.




A Life Course Approach to Chronic Disease Epidemiology


Book Description

From reviews of the previous edition:'We still have much to learn if disease patterns are to be explained by taking a life course approach... this book provides strong arguments for this approach... the book is a highly qualified starting point for the debate... it will remain a useful summary of pioneer research of huge potential importance for public health.' -Epidemiology'This is not just another epidemiology textbook. It is essential reading for anyone with an active mind who is interested in public health.' -Journal of Public Health Medicine'A truly exciting and extremely informative endeavour for anyone interested in the determinants of human health and disease. This discussion is at the core of current public health issues.' -European Journal of Public Health'The conclusion is of major importance to public health policy. It reinforces the need for a life course strategy, with attention being paid to the mother, baby, child adolescent, and elderly person.' -BMJ'Provokes thought about the origins of chronic diseases, suggests new approaches to identifying particular susceptible individuals and encourages the identification of optimal points in the life course for possible preventive interventions.' -Chronic Diseases in CanadaThe first edition in 1997 of A life course approach to chronic disease epidemiology became a classic text for epidemiological and public health researchers interested in the childhood origins of adult chronic disease. Since then the new field of life course epidemiology has expanded rapidly, attracting the interest not only of academics across the health and social sciences but also policy makers, funding bodies, and the general public. Its purpose is to study how biological and social factors during gestation, childhood, adolescence and earlier adult life independently, cumulatively and interactively influence later life health and disease.Contributors to this fully revised second edition capture the excitement of the developing field and assess the latest evidence regarding sources of risk to health across the life course and across generations. The original chapters on life course influences on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, blood pressure, respiratory disease and cancer have been updated and extended. New chapters on life course influences on obesity, biological ageing and neuropsychiatric disorders have been added. Life course explanations for disease trends and for socioeconomic differentials in disease risk are given more attention in this new edition, reflecting recent developments in the field. The section on policy implications has been expanded, assessing the role of interventions to improve childhood social circumstances, as well as interventions to improve early growth. Emerging new research themes and the theoretical and methodological challenges facing life course epidemiology are highlighted.Readership: Epidemiologists, public health researchers, public health policy makers for developed and developing countries, sociologists and biologists, psychiatrists and social and chronic disease epidemiologists




The Infectious Etiology of Chronic Diseases


Book Description

In recent years, a number of chronic diseases have been linked, in some cases definitively, to an infectious etiology: peptic ulcer disease with Helicobacter pylori, cervical cancer with several human papillomaviruses, Lyme arthritis and neuroborreliosis with Borrelia burgdorferi, AIDS with the human immunodeficiency virus, liver cancer and cirrhosis with hepatitis B and C viruses, to name a few. The proven and suspected roles of microbes does not stop with physical ailments; infections are increasingly being examined as associated causes of or possible contributors to a variety of serious, chronic neuropsychiatric disorders and to developmental problems, especially in children. The Infectious Etiology of Chronic Diseases: Defining the Relationship, Enhancing the Research, and Mitigating the Effects, summarizes a two-day workshop held by the Institute of Medicine's Forum on Microbial Threats to address this rapidly evolving field. Participants explored factors driving infectious etiologies of chronic diseases of prominence, identified difficulties in linking infectious agents with chronic outcomes, and discussed broad-based strategies and research programs to advance the field.




Oxford Textbook of Global Public Health


Book Description

Sixth edition of the hugely successful, internationally recognised textbook on global public health and epidemiology, with 3 volumes comprehensively covering the scope, methods, and practice of the discipline




Oxford Textbook of Medical Mycology


Book Description

The Oxford Textbook of Medical Mycology is a comprehensive reference text which brings together the science and medicine of human fungal disease. Written by a leading group of international authors to bring a global expertise, it is divided into sections that deal with the principles of mycology, the organisms, a systems based approach to management, fungal disease in specific patient groups, diagnosis, and treatment. The detailed clinical chapters take account of recent international guidelines on the management of fungal disease. With chapters covering recent developments in taxonomy, fungal genetics and other 'omics', epidemiology, pathogenesis, and immunology, this textbook is well suited to aid both scientists and clinicians. The extensive illustrations, tables, and in-depth coverage of topics, including discussion of the non-infective aspects of allergic and toxin mediated fungal disease, are designed to aid the understanding of mechanisms and pathology, and extend the usual approach to fungal disease. This textbook is essential reading for microbiologists, research scientists, infectious diseases clinicians, respiratory physicians, and those managing immunocompromised patients. Part of the Oxford Textbook in Infectious Disease and Microbiology series, it is also a useful companion text for students and trainees looking to supplement mycology courses and microbiology training.




Concepts of Epidemiology


Book Description

First edition published in 2002. Second edition published in 2008.




Genetic Epidemiology of Cancer


Book Description

This multi-authored book provides a unique accounting of the cancer problem from the standpoint of those primary genetic factors which may be interacting with myriad environmental exposures in cancer etiology. It provides a comprehensive coverage of cancer of all anatomical sites in conjunction with a genetic/environmental thrust. It includes a survey chapter dealing with the role of primary genetic factors in cancer of differing anatomic sites and a similar comprehensive survey chapter tracing the history of epidemiology, with focus upon multiple anatomic sites, including classical epidemiologic cancer models such as cigarette smoking, asbestos, vinyl chloride, and uranium exposure. Chapters are devoted to tumor biomarkers and their applicability to cancer of multiple anatomic sites. Clinical correlation will involve surveillance/management programsand focus on high-risk groups-such as those involving primary genetic or environmental factors and/or their interaction. The development of registries involving families with differing hereditary cancer syndromes are considered. Also, many chapters are devoted to environmental protective measures, as well as the need for more responsibility for coverage of patients at inordinately high risk for cancer by third party carriers. Other chapters address segregation and linkage analysis, oncogenes, cytogenetics, and other biomarkers. This book will be of interest to general clinicians, oncologists, surgeons, geneticists, and carcinogenesis investigators.