Social Epidemiology

Social epidemiology, or “social epi”, is the branch of epidemiology dedicated to understanding how social and economic factors contribute to health and patterns of disease in populations.  This includes the study of how societal aspects such as economic inequality, racism, neighborhoods, policies, and work environments influence health directly and indirectly.  It also includes the development of cutting-edge methods for capturing the unique features of how social phenomena influence health.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has exciting opportunities to learn and conduct research in social epidemiology with a broad range of faculty across several departments, award-winning courses, a student-led Social Epidemiology Student Organization and journal club, and an annual Social Epidemiology Lectureship featuring an invited speaker.

We invite you to join us as we continue to grow the field of social epidemiology.
 

Social Epidemiology Faculty
 

Social Epidemiology Courses

Social Epidemiology Student Organization

The Social Epidemiology Student Organization (SESO) aims to broaden the scope of epidemiology beyond a biomedical individualistic focus by facilitating students' understanding of social conditions as determinants of health at the population level. SESO is a multidisciplinary forum for the dissemination of theory, methods, and findings related to macro-level factors influencing health. It is our objective to translate this knowledge into research that can serve as the evidence base for policies addressing social disparities in health. Activities include a monthly journal club, an invited speaker series (the Annual Lectureship in Social Epidemiology), research-in-progress seminars, and working groups. Specific areas of interest include:

• Macrosocial determinants of health
• Neighborhoods and health
• Research methods in Social Epidemiology
• Gender-race-class and health
• Theory in Social Epidemiology
• Measurement issues in Social Determinants

For more information, contact SESO co-leaders Lianeris Estremera-Rodriguez and Madeline Brooks.
 

Journal Club

The Social Epidemiology Journal Club provides students and faculty and opportunity to choose and discuss relevant research published in academic journals and how it applies to social epi. The journal club meets monthly from 12:15-1:15 pm. For academic year 2024-2025, all journal club meetings will take place in W2029. *Note: the journal club does not meet during student recess.

• October 10, 2024 
• November 14, 2024 
• December 12, 2024
• February 13, 2025
• March 13, 2025
• April 10, 2025
• May 8, 2025