Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is arguably the world’s greatest health challenge. It threatens our ability to control many infectious diseases of humans and animals, both in the developed world, middle and lower income countries, impacting not just health and welfare, but also our food production systems.

The epidemiology of infectious diseases is key to tackling antimicrobial resistance. This programme will equip students with a broad skill set in epidemiology of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance by combining training in epidemiological investigations, quantitative methods, laboratory-based approaches, bioinformatic tools, alongside the global ethical and legal contexts.

WHY THIS PROGRAMME

- Top 20 in the UK for Biological Sciences.

- A unique programme combining training in the epidemiology of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance that will provide students with multi-disciplinary skills needed to address these global public and veterinary health challenges from biomedical, social or policy perspectives.

- Close interdisciplinary efforts of the Institute are further evidenced by the establishment of a new research hub, the OHRBID laboratory (“One Health Research in Bacterial Infectious Diseases”), providing hands-on experience and training in the identification of genetic and genomic mechanisms underlying AMR.

- Equips students with an exceptionally broad knowledge base and a suite of skills in infectious disease epidemiology and AMR – epidemiological and ecological modelling, statistical analyses, epidemiological study design, mitigation strategies, genetic aspects of AMR, genomics data analysis, and ethical and legal issues.

- Comprised of leading experts in the field of epidemiology of infectious diseases, including molecular and field epidemiologists, as well as statisticians, mathematical modellers and microbiologists, who will provide a One Health context relevant to developed as well as lower and middle income countries.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Core and Optional Courses

This 180-credit taught programme comprises of a combination of compulsory and optional courses.

Term 1 Core Courses:
KEY RESEARCH SKILLS
CORE SKILLS IN EPIDEMIOLOGY OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Term 2 Core Courses:
INFECTIOUS DISEASE ECOLOGY AND THE DYNAMICS OF EMERGING DISEASE
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE
SOCIETAL ASPECTS OF AMR
GENETIC AND GENOMIC ASPECTS OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE

Term 2 Optional Courses:
SPATIAL ECOLOGY
ANIMAL ETHICS
BIOLOGY OF SUFFERING
BIODIVERSITY INFORMATICS
PRINCIPLES OF CONSERVATION ECOLOGY
SINGLE SPECIES MODELS
ANIMAL LEGISLATION AND SOCIETAL ISSUES
CONSERVATION GENETICS
HUMAN DIMENSIONS OF CONSERVATION
INTRODUCTION TO BAYESIAN STATISTICS
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR ECOLOGISTS
PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT
ANIMAL WELFARE ASSESSMENT
MULTI SPECIES MODELS
MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PHYLODYNAMICS
CARE & ENRICHMENT OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS
VERTEBRATE IDENTIFICATION
ECONOMIC TOOLS FOR CONSERVATION
INVERTEBRATE IDENTIFICATION

Term 3 Core MSc Component:
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE: PROJECT