Epidemiology & Public Health
Epidemiology is the study of the frequency, distribution, and determinants of health and disease in animal populations. The Section of Epidemiology and Public Health at New Bolton Center is responsible for the core courses in Epidemiology ("Principles of Epidemiology, VMED 606; Veterinary Public Health, VMED 607) and an elective course (Ecological Epidemiology, VCSN 631).
The Section has particular expertise in modeling the transmission dynamics of infectious and parasitic diseases but also has considerable experience with case-control methodologies and surveillance techniques, and is actively involved in the Epidemic Disease Geographical Information Systems Unit (EDGIS).
Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS)
MIDAS is a consortium of research groups that create mathematical models of the spread of infectious diseases in people and animals. Longstanding participation by Penn Vet scientists in the National Institutes of Health MIDAS program has contributed to our understanding the influenza A/ H1N1 virus and efforts to control its epidemic. Many of the influenza mitigation strategies that you have been hearing about in the news have been examined and tested in the computer models created by MIDAS researchers.