Areas of Research

Globally, 20 million people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Cancer epidemiology is an area of public health research that studies of the distribution, determinants, and frequency of cancer within populations. This field of research aims to understand the various factors that contribute to the development and spread of cancer. More recently, cancer epidemiology also includes the study of risk factors of survival and survivorship after a cancer diagnosis. By identifying risk factors, such as genetic, environmental, lifestyle, and occupational influences, cancer epidemiology seeks to inform prevention strategies, early detection, survivorship, and public health policies. 

The Harvard Chan School’s Cancer Epidemiology program is a leader in providing students with a multidisciplinary academic, research, and applied program. It provides a breadth of courses on cancer research methodology, substantive courses on cancer epidemiology and prevention, as well as courses on genetic epidemiology and biomarkers. These courses aim at enhancing the skills and training of cancer epidemiologists through the integration of biologic, environmental, and contextual factors into a deeper understanding of disease etiology and survival, and for translation into cancer control. Students and fellows work closely with our distinguished faculty who are conducting cutting-edge research into the lifestyle, environmental, and genetic factors that influence both cancer incidence and survival with studies both in the U.S. and globally. Faculty research covers a broad array of malignancies including breast, colorectal, lung, nasopharyngeal, hematologic, ovarian, endometrial, and prostate cancers. A major focus of the work is integrative and multidisciplinary, conducted with colleagues in biostatistics, molecular pathology, cancer biology, genetics and immunology. Integration with the world-renowned Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center enhances opportunities for collaborations with colleagues at other Harvard Medical Area institutions (e.g., Mass General Brigham, the Broad Institute, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute). This allows researchers to leverage unique data resources, most notably several large prospective cohort and case-control studies based at Harvard. These resources provide superb research and training opportunities for students and fellows.  

Clinical epidemiology applies the principles and methods of epidemiology to improve the diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and prevention of disease in clinical settings. It concentrates on research that can directly influence clinical practice and improve patient care. Key areas of study in clinical epidemiology include the development and appraisal of diagnostic tests, risk prediction models, randomized trials, observational studies for comparative effectiveness research, and systematic reviews to inform evidence-based practice.

The Harvard Chan School’s Clinical Epidemiology program is one of the largest areas of interest in the Department of Epidemiology. Faculty members are international leaders in teaching and research in fields including cardiology, oncology, nephrology, neurology, psychiatry, infectious diseases, and surgery. Our program also has an extensive network of faculty members based in the Harvard teaching hospitals and in other institutions. Academic degree offerings include a PhD Program with Clinical Epidemiology as the area of interest, as well as one- and two-year Master of Science programs in Clinical Epidemiology. We also offer a hybrid (online and in-person) Master of Public Health degree that has trained thousands of clinicians worldwide on epidemiologic methods.  

Focusing on the anticipation, identification, evaluation, and quantification of diseases and injuries due to workplace exposures, research in Environmental Health Occupational Health/Occupational Epidemiology strives to provide the scientific basis for occupational health and safety policies to control occupational hazards and assess hazardous exposures in the workplace (chemical, physical, biological) via human population studies.   

The epidemiology of aging is a subfield of epidemiology that focuses on population aging and age-related diseases and health conditions in older adults, with the goal of understanding their causes and burdens, developing preventive strategies, improving health care for older adults, and promoting healthy aging   

As populations around the world are living longer and the proportion of older adults is rapidly increasing, the study of the epidemiology of aging has become increasingly important for public health, healthcare planning, and policy development. 

The training in this area emphasizes rigorous epidemiological designs to address major methodological challenges in studying aging and age-related conditions.  

Key focus areas include common age-related chronic diseases (e.g.,   neurodegenerative disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer), functional decline and disability, complex health status in older adults (e.g., multimorbidity, frailty, polypharmacy), determinants of healthy aging and longevity, and health services and utilization. 

Core courses focus on the epidemiologic aspects of the study of aging, including descriptive and analytical epidemiologic methods to examine health conditions in older adults; major age-related diseases and their determinants; special issues related to frailty, and emerging topics in the field.  Primary faculty conduct research on issues such as cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, depression, musculoskeletal disorders, frailty, and successful aging, notably through several Harvard-based large prospective cohorts and close national and international collaborations. Faculty members contributing to teaching, mentoring, and research in this field are drawn from the highly collaborative and multidisciplinary research and healthcare communities at Harvard and in the Boston area, such as Mass General Brigham, the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and VA Boston Healthcare. These resources provide superb research opportunities for students and fellows.  

This area provides training in the development and application of new methods in epidemiologic research. Students learn to use and justify classical epidemiologic methods in study design, data analysis, and interpretation of results. Students also receive training in biostatistical areas most relevant to epidemiologic research. Recent innovations in epidemiologic methodology are introduced through advanced courses and tutorials. 

The concentration in infectious disease epidemiology (often referred to as “ID Epi”) provides a rare opportunity for students to obtain rigorous training both in traditional methods for epidemiologic studies and in mathematical modeling and other approaches to studying transmission mechanisms. Coursework bridging these areas is reinforced by ongoing collaborations within the department, and between epidemiologists and bench scientists who can measure parameters relevant to epidemiologic models. 

Cardiovascular epidemiology is a branch of public health science that focuses on studying the patterns, causes, and effects of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in populations, noting that CVDs are the most common cause of death and disability worldwide. CVD epidemiologists investigate factors that influence the development and progression of heart and blood vessel conditions such as: coronary artery disease and heart attack, stroke, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart failure, arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats), and peripheral artery disease. In summary, cardiovascular epidemiology plays a critical role in reducing the burden of heart disease and stroke by informing prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and public health policies. 

The Program in Cardiovascular Epidemiology promotes and advances research collaboration and discussion among investigators with expertise in cardiovascular disease research at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Framingham Heart Study, and other sites.  

By means of forums and other activities, the Program “expands the hallway” for those critical hallway discussions that often result in the most interesting and scientifically promising collaborations, mentorships, grant proposals, and projects. In addition to research synergy and grant successes, the Program facilitates sharing and expansion of mentoring and fellow training, didactic training in cardiovascular epidemiology, and coordination of external collaborations related to cardiovascular epidemiology.  

Program members’ interests include nutrition, physical activity, pharmacoepidemiology, aging, women’s health, genetics, basic science, biostatistics, policy and risk analysis, social and environmental epidemiology, global health, pediatric CVD, and methods. 

The Program in Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics (PGSG), formerly the Program in Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology, focuses on the genetic dissection of complex human diseases.  The Program gives special emphasis to deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer to improve our capacities for cancer diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, as well as prevention. We also conduct research on other chronic diseases and on new methods in statistical genetics in collaboration with colleagues at Harvard Chan School, Harvard Medical School, The Broad Institute, and elsewhere. The Program has several components: 

(1) High-Throughput Polymorphism Detection Core Facility 
(2) Biostatistical Analysis and Bioinformatics 
(3) Teaching and Research in Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics 

The mission of the Program in Pharmacoepidemiology is to: (1) advance research in the determinants of both intended and unintended effects of drugs, vaccines, biologics, medical procedures, and medical devices; (2) train the next generation of leaders who will continue to advance the field; and (3) enhance research and academic capacity in pharmacoepidemiology. 

The Psychiatric Epidemiology area introduces students to concepts and methods for studying the genetic and psychosocial factors that relate to the prevalence, incidence, and outcome of different types of psychiatric illnesses. Emphasis is given to issues of reliability and validity in studying such disorders among children, adolescents, and adults. The curriculum consists of specialized courses, as well as related courses offered in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Departments of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. A wide range of research opportunities are available, with particular depth in psychiatric genetics, mental health services, pharmacoepidemiology, clinical trials, prevention, and community and cross-cultural studies. 

The Neuroepidemiology area provides training in research methodology and the epidemiology of neurological diseases. Current research is focused on the roles of diet, infections, and environmental exposures in the etiology of neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and integrates biomarkers and genetic factors. Doctoral students conduct research in a substantive or methodological area related to neuroepidemiology. 

Through courses in the Departments of Epidemiology and Nutrition, students in this area learn methods of nutritional assessment and their related strengths and weaknesses. Students also receive advanced training in the nutritional determinants of disease and in methods for analysis specific to research in nutritional epidemiology. Students can conduct research within several large prospective ongoing studies at Harvard Chan School and Harvard Medical School, including an examination of dietary factors in relation to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases; a study of the interactions between nutritional and genetic determinants of disease; and the assessment of nutritional supplementation in relation to infectious agents and malnutrition. 

This area focuses on the determinants of health throughout the lifecourse, including those related to reproductive health, the perinatal period, childhood, and adolescence/young adulthood. 

Reproductive topics include pubertal development, menstruation, gynecologic health (e.g., endometriosis, dyspareunia), sexually transmitted infections, contraception, reproductive cancers, and menopause. 

Perinatal topics include pregnancy intention, fertility, assisted reproductive technologies, abortion, pregnancy complications (e.g., preeclampsia), and pregnancy outcomes (e.g., preterm birth, birth defects, neonatal mortality, postpartum depression). 

Methodological issues are a strong emphasis, as is a focus on health inequities—including among sexual and gender minority populations. Several faculty have expertise in global issues, and many focus on exposures—including environmental—that are salient throughout the lifecourse.