182.617.01
Exposure Sciences for Health Risk Assessment

Location
East Baltimore
Term
4th Term
Department
Environmental Health and Engineering
Credit(s)
4
Academic Year
2024 - 2025
Instruction Method
In-person
Class Time(s)
Tu, Th, 8:00 - 9:20am
Auditors Allowed
Yes, with instructor consent
Available to Undergraduate
No
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Gurumurthy Ramachandran
Contact Name
Gurumurthy Ramachandran
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Prerequisite

180.609 Principles of Environmental Health or 180.601 Environmental Health or an equivalent introductory course in environmental health

182.613 Exposure Assessment Techniques for Health Risk Management

Description
Prepares students to use techniques of exposure assessment in aid of epidemiological studies. Introduces students to core concepts including exposure variability and its implications for reconstructing historical exposures; sparse data and measurement errors; the exposure data matrix; methods for imputation of missing values; the relationship between exposure and tissue concentrations; the choice of exposure metric; and exposure-response relationships. Examines advanced techniques for imputing missing data while reconstructing exposures. Demonstrates the application of mathematical models of exposure using exposure determinant information and Bayesian methods. Considers exposure windows and exposure lagging. Focuses on using biologic models of how disease develops in response to exposure. Students critically evaluate exposure assessment strategies in selected epidemiological studies from the peer-reviewed literature.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
  1. Explain the nature of exposure problems in reconstructing historical exposures in occupational and non-occupational settings
  2. Recognize the implications of sparse and missing data and the choice of the exposure metric on the resulting exposure-response relationship
  3. Design studies to estimate exposure for prospective and retrospective epidemiological studies and interpret data obtained from such studies
  4. Use statistical techniques, physical mathematical models, and Bayesian methods to quantify exposures while accounting for temporal and spatial dependence
  5. Articulate the relationship between exposures and biological outcomes, such as tissue concentrations from pharmacokinetic models
  6. Critically evaluate exposure assessment strategies in epidemiological studies and risk assessments
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
  • 100% Assignments
Instructor Consent
Consent required for some students
Consent Note
Consent is required for students who have not taken the prerequisite
Consent Contact
gramach5@jhu.edu
Special Comments

Recommended textbooks:

Smith, T.J., and Kriebel, D. A Biologic Approach to Environmental Assessment and Epidemiology, 2010.

Ramachandran, G. Occupational Exposure Assessment for Air Contaminants. 2005.

Elizabeth Matsui and Roger Peng. The Art of Data Science. 2016.

Rappaport, S.M. and Kupper L.L. Quantitative Exposure Assessment. 2008