Download 1. Describe environmental conditions, including biological, physical

DEPARTMENT:
Environmental Health
COURSE NUMBER:
EH 527
CREDIT HOURS:
2
COURSE TITLE:
Biomarkers in Environmental Public Health
SEMESTER: Spring 2016
INSTRUCTOR NAME
Dana Boyd Barr, Ph.D.
INSTRUCTOR CONTACT INFORMATION
EMAIL:
[email protected]
PHONE:
404-727-9605
SCHOOL ADDRESS OR MAILBOX LOCATION:
Rm 2007 CNR
OFFICE HOURS
M, Wed, Th 9:00-5:00 (best 9-11am and 2-4pm),
drop-in or by appointment
TEACHING ASSISTANTS
N/A
BRIEF COURSE DESCRIPTION
Assessing exposure to chemical exposures is considered the “Achilles’s Heel” of environmental
epidemiology. If exposure is not correctly classified, the results of epidemiologic studies can be
invalidated. Biomarker measurements are increasingly used to estimate or assess exposure to a variety
of chemical toxicants resulting from both occupational and environmental (background) exposures.
These data are used to understand predictors of exposure such as demographic parameters and to
evaluate outcomes related to exposures. In addition, they provide information to be implemented in
environmental health policy. This course will cover through a series of lectures and case studies when,
where and why biomarkers may be useful for exposure assessment and advantages and limitations of
biomarker measurements.
LIST SCHOOL LEVEL, DEPARTMENT, AND/ OR PROGRAM COMPETENCIES
1. Describe environmental conditions, including biological, physical and chemical factors,
which affect the health of individuals, communities and populations (From Core
Competencies for all MPH/MSPH students)
ACADEMIC HONOR CODE
The RSPH requires that all material submitted by a student in fulfilling his or her academic course of study must be
the original work of the student.
LIST LEARNING OBJECTIVES ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPETENCIES
EH 527 is a course designed to introduce the concept and appropriate use and interpretation of
biomarkers in environmental health. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Understand when, why and how biomarkers may be used in environmental health research.
2. Explain the differences in how biomarkers are used for assessing chemical exposures and for
evaluating adverse health effects.
3. Specify approaches for quantitative assessment of environmental hazards that pose
risks to human health in both occupational and environmental settings.
4. Describe current research programs utilizing biomarkers, including the types of
biomarkers, limitations, and sources of uncertainty and variability.
5.
Develop research protocols including biomarkers for exposure assessment.
6. Formulate research hypotheses for conducting environmental public health studies
using biomarkers.
EVALUATION
Class participation:
25 points
Group Case study:
20 points
Individual Article Critique:
10 points
Final project:
45 points
Grading:
≥ 95 points
78 – 84 points
70 – 74 points
A
B+
B-
85 – 94 points
75 – 77 points
50 – 69 points
AB
C
< 50 points
F
EH 527: Biomarkers in Environmental Public Health
Syllabus – Spring Semester 2016
WHERE AND WHEN: GCR115; Thursdays, 10:00 – 11:50AM
COURSE DIRECTOR:
Dana Boyd Barr, Ph.D.; email: [email protected]; telephone: 404-727-9605
Office hours: M, W, Th 9:00-5:00 (best 9-11am and 2-4pm), drop-in or by appointment
COURSE TEACHING ASSISTANTS:
N/A
COURSE BLACKBOARD SITE: http://classes.emory.edu/; course title is EH527: Biomarkers in
Environmental Public Health – Spring 2016; course announcements will be posted at the
Announcements link
TEXT: None required. Electronic readings will be provided.
COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES: EH 527 is a course designed to introduce the concept and
appropriate use and interpretation of biomarkers in environmental health. Upon completion of
the course, students will be able to:
1. Understand when, why and how biomarkers may be used in environmental health
research.
2. Explain the differences in how biomarkers are used for assessing chemical exposures
and for evaluating adverse health effects.
3. Specify approaches for quantitative assessment of environmental hazards that pose
risks to human health in both occupational and environmental settings.
4. Describe current research programs utilizing biomarkers, including the types of
biomarkers, limitations, and sources of uncertainty and variability.
5. Develop research protocols including biomarkers for exposure assessment.
6. Formulate research hypotheses for conducting environmental public health studies
using biomarkers.
EVALUATION: Evaluation will be based on your class participation, a group case study, an
individual article critique, and a final project. These exercises are designed to assess your
understanding of lecture materials and readings and to enable you to synthesize the concepts
discussed.
Class participation: Because this class is relatively small, it will be very interactive. We will
have active discussion about certain topics and frequent examples that we will work through as
a class. Participation is necessary to glean content from the course. Through active
participation and critical discussion, you will be able to develop and/or evaluate studies using
biomarkers.
Group Case Study: Each group, established randomly, will be assigned two article to read and
critique. The BEES-C tool will be made available as well as a Power Point template. The group
should read the article, discuss the merits and limitations of the research from a biomarker
perspective and develop a descriptive Power Point presentation. The presentation will be
given during a class period and the group will facilitate discussion of the articles merits and
limitations, alternative ways of conducting the research and other pertinent information
related to the article. I am happy to meet with your group individually to discuss the article and
to offer a critique of your presentation prior to presenting.
Article Critique: An article of importance using biomarkers will be selected for class critique.
Each student will be responsible for reading the article outside of class and establishing some
critique points for discussion. Although we will critique the article as a class, you will be
expected to turn in the written critiques you prepared via the Blackboard Assignment tool
before the class begins. This will give us additional content to discuss.
Final Project of Biomarker Assessment: The final project is an individual project. Students will
self-select a paper that addresses a research question of importance to them that could benefit
from the inclusion of biomarkers. You will redesign or augment the design of the study to
include biomarkers and to argue of the value added to the study by the use of biomarkers. You
can assess the pros and cons of using biomarkers in this study. This project is designed to help
you consider all factors that will go into developing a study that involves biomarker
assessments. This project will be presented during a 15 min class presentation and discussion
session.
Final Grade
Group case study
Article critique
Class participation
Final project
20 points
10 points
25 points
45 points
≥ 95 points
85 – 94 points
78 – 84 points
75 – 77 points
70 – 74 points
50 – 69 points
< 50 points
A
AB+
B
BC
F
EH 527 - COURSE SCHEDULE
Spring 2016, Thursday, 10:00 – 11:50 am, GCR 115
Week
1
2
Date
1/14
1/21
Speaker(s)
N/A (instructor ill)
Dana Boyd Barr, Ph.D.
3
1/28
Dana Boyd Barr, Ph.D.
Environmental Health
4
2/4
Dana Boyd Barr, Ph.D.
Environmental Health
5
2/11
6
2/18
7
2/25
Article Critique (Colon et
al. 2000)
Laboratory tour and
demonstration (2 groups,
1 hr each)
John R. Barr, Ph.D.
Chief, Clinical Chemistry
Branch
Director, Biological Mass
Spectrometry
Dana Boyd Barr, Ph.D.
8
3/3
Group 1
Group 2
Dana Boyd Barr, Ph.D.
Topic(s)
Required Reading
Course Overview
Introduction to biomarkers
None
Major chemical classes/
Toxicokinetics/
Matrix selection
Methodologic
considerations/Study
design/Biomarker Initiatives
Case Study: Serum
phthalates as a biomarker
How a biomarker lab
operates
Barr et al. 2005
Needham et al. 2007
Groopman et al. 2005
Colon et al. 2000
Barr et al. 2003
None
Article critique
due in blackboard
None
Biomarkers of chronic and
infectious disease
None
None
Biomarkers of Lead and
Persistent Organic
Pollutants
BEES-C Tool
Case Study: Lead
None
Case Study: Persistent
Organic Pollutants
Biomarkers of
Perfluorochemicals and
Alkylated phenols
Ettinger et al. 2014
Eun et al. 2014
Barr et al. 2006
Eskenazi et al. 2014
None
Assignment
None
Article for critique
assigned:
Colon et al. 2000
None
None
Final project topic
due in Blackboard
Week
9
10
Date
3/10
3/17
11
3/24
12
3/31
Speaker(s)
Topic(s)
SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS
Group 3
Case study: PFOA Exposure
from acute contamination
Group 4
Case Study: Bisphenol A
exposure
Dana Boyd Barr, Ph.D.
Biomarkers of exposure to
tobacco and pesticides
Group 5
Case Study: ETS exposure
(cotinine)
Group 6
Case Study:
Organophosphate pesticides
Required Reading
Assignment
Frisbee et al 2010
Taylor et al. 2014
Eng et al. 2013
Brent 2013
None
None
Yuan et al. 2014
Dove et al. 2010
Engel et al. 2011
Rauh et al. 2011
None
Dana Boyd Barr, Ph.D.
None
Group 7
Dana Boyd Barr, Ph.D.
Biomarkers in extant data
sets including NHANES
Case study: NHANES data
13
4/7
Final Project Presentations
Exposomics: The wave of
the future
7 presentations (15 min)
14
15
4/14
4/21
Final Project Presentations
Final Project Presentations
7 presentations (15 min)
7 presentations (15 min)
Bouchard et al. 2010
Bouchard et al. 2011
Miller and Jones 2014
Final project
written report
due
None
Final Project
Power Points due
None
None
None
None