Courses

(Winter term) - A seminar course designed for study of current topics in child health research, specific to the student's M.Sc. or PhD Program in the Department of Pediatrics.

Prerequisite or Co-requisites: No pre or co-requisites. Normally restricted to graduate students in pediatrics, however, graduate students in other programs may register with permission from the department and / or instructor (s).

(Winter term) - A seminar designed to address the growing evidence and to recognize the role of early life environmental exposures (biological, physical, chemical and social) as major determinants of child and adult health.

Prerequisite or Co-requisites: No pre or co-requisites. Normally restricted to graduate students in pediatrics, however, graduate students in other programs may register with permission from the department and / or instructor (s).

(Either term) A reading course designed for in-depth, individual study of a specific topic on pediatric medicine related to the student's M.Sc. or PhD Program in the Department of Pediatrics. As this is an individual study course, you will need to develop a course outline with the course supervisor which must be approved by the Director, Graduate Studies prior to being registered in the course. A co-lead instructor must be assigned to evaluate all assignments for the duration of the course. The co-lead may also (but does not have to) be part of the regular instruction of the course content. The final paper in the course must be reviewed and graded by the two faculty members (co-lead instructors), as well as an additional examiner (either from the Department of Pediatrics or external).

Prerequisite or Co-requisites: No pre or co-requisites. Normally restricted to graduate students in pediatrics.

(Fall term) - This course follows a "discovery learning" format to critically evaluate scientific literature in a round table discussion. This course centers on principles of biomedical and clinical research as presented in the health sciences literature related to maternal and child health. As of September 5, 2017, this course is mandatory for new graduate students in the Department of Pediatrics.

Prerequisite or Co-requisites: Normally restricted to graduate students in pediatrics, however, graduate students in other programs may register with permission from the department and / or instructor (s).

(Winter term) An applied course designed to provide students with an understanding of randomized controlled trial methodology and its application to the design, conduct, and reporting of trials evaluating interventions relevant to outcomes in child health. Instruction will be provided on evidence-based methods; students will apply this knowledge to develop competence in developing their own trial protocol. Topics include developing a research question, participant selection, sample size considerations, outcome measurement, data collection and analysis, internal and external validity, ethical considerations, different trial designs, and current guidelines and standards for trial conduct and reporting.

Prerequisites: Introductory epidemiology (SPH 596 or equivalent) and biostatistics (SPH 519 or equivalent) courses, or permission of the instructor.

(Fall term) This half-year course provides a practical approach to clinical epidemiology with a focus on the cohort study design. Students will develop a hypothesis (ideally related to their area of study) and identify cohort data to help them answer their hypothesis. Along the way, students will have a hands-on approach to using Redcap. The course will be presented in an-online format where the students can work at their own pace. Most lectures will be provided by study investigators. Some of the lectures may require the student to register for free classes on campus (e.g redcap training through the local research institute, privacy training).

Topics include developing a research question, ethical considerations, accessing cohort data,
data collection (Redcap)

Prerequisites: SPH 519 or equivalent which can be done concurrently in first term, or permission of the instructor.

(Winter term) This half-year course provides an applied approach to clinical epidemiology with a focus on analyzing cohort data. Students will use the cohort data to develop a manuscript from idea (ideally related to their area of study) to submission. Along the way, students will have a hands-on approach to using STATA as they analyze the data requested for their project. The course will be presented in an-online format where the students can work at their own pace. Most lectures will be provided by study investigators. Some of the lectures may refer to online resources (e.g. STATA) for the students to use while others will require the student to register for free classes on campus (e.g Redcap training through the local research institute, privacy training).

Topics include: cohort data analysis including power and sample size calculations, and presenting the results (abstracts, posters, manuscripts).

Prerequisites: SPH 519 or equivalent and PAED 605 or permission of the instructor.

(Winter Term) An overview course covering the principles of systematic reviews of therapeutic interventions relevant to outcomes in child health. Instruction will be provided on evidence-based methods, including the steps involved in conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis, searching the literature, critical appraisal and identification of threats to validity in a systematic review, and statistical analysis.

Prerequisites: SPH 596 or equivalent and SPH 519 or equivalent, or permission of the instructor.