Research and Practice

Translational Epidemiology Initiative

In summer 2017, the Department of Epidemiology launched the Translational Epidemiology Initiative under the leadership of David Dowdy, MD, PhD ’08, ScM ’02. This was an effort across all departmental tracks to improve the translation of epidemiological results into better health outcomes. 

This initiative was based on ideas by Moyses Szklo, MD, DrPH ’74, MPH, who defined translational epidemiology as an "effective transfer of new knowledge from epidemiologic studies into the planning of populationwide and individual-level disease control programs and policies.”

The Translational Epidemiology Initiative includes several key components:

  • Emphasizing translational efforts in the Department, including engagement with policymakers, government officials, basic scientists, clinicians, and members of the media
  • Holding symposia in the School, broader Baltimore community, and scientific conferences to help forge links between epidemiologists and other key stakeholders
  • Developing an innovative curriculum to teach students skills necessary to become effective Translational Epidemiologists
  • Publishing articles in the scientific literature to help conceptualize and promote Translational Epidemiology as an important component of the field
  • Advancing an agenda within the field of epidemiology to help strengthen linkages between the results of epidemiological inquiry and improved health outcomes in populations

The Translational Epidemiology Initiative hosts a monthly seminar during the academic year focusing on diverse topics under the theme of translational epidemiology.

2024–2025 Seminar Series 

Bonnielin Swenor, PhD, MPH: Removing Roadblocks to Health Equity for People With Disabilities: Translating Data to Policy(link is external)


2023–2024 Seminar Series

Ryan Town, MD: Making It Count: A Clinician's Perspective on Maximizing the Bedside Utility of Your Research(link is external) (December 4, 2023)

Amber D'Souza, PhD: Translational Epidemiology: Overview, Impact and Examples(link is external) (January 26, 2024)

Parastu Kasaie, PhD, and Keri Althoff, PhD: The Forecasted Burden of Comorbidities and Multimorbidity in People With HIV in the United States to 2030(link is external) (May 16, 2024)


2022–2023 Seminar Series

Tyler VanderWeele, PhD: Positive Epidemiology(link is external) (September 29, 2022)

Jan M. Eberth, PhD: Using Descriptive Epidemiologic Evidence to Advance Cancer Care Equity(link is external) (October 27, 2022)


2021–2022 Seminar Series

Stefan Baral, MD: Leveraging an Equity-Lens to Characterize the Risks for COVID-19 Acquisition and Transmission and Optimal Intervention Strategies (link is external)(September 23, 2021)

Lindsey Leininger, PhD: Fight Like a Nerdy Girl: Lessons Learned From the COVID Information Frontlines(link is external) (October 14, 2021)

Kara Rudolph, PhD: Two Strategies for Reducing Opioid Use Disorder Relapse(link is external) (February 10, 2022)

Kevin Kensler, ScD: Addressing Disparities Across the Prostate Cancer Continuum(link is external) (March 31, 2022)

Usama Bilal, PhD, MPH, MD: Using Epidemiological Evidence to Inform Public Health Practice: The Case of Indoor Dining and COVID-19(link is external) (April 21, 2022)


2020–2021 Seminar Series

Moyses Szklo, MD, PhD:  Some Issues in the Interface of Epidemiology and Public Health Policy(link is external) (February 25, 2021)

Joseph Flynn, MD:  Improving the Accuracy of Pediatric Normative Blood Pressure Data(link is external) (April 15, 2021)

George Davey Smith MA, MD, BChir, MSc: Modern or Modish Epidemiology? What Is Lost When Fashions Change(link is external) (May 17, 2021)

The Translational Epidemiology Initiative, including students and faculty in the department, published an article describing a vision of translational epidemiology in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2019:

Windle M, Lee HD, Cherng ST, Lesko CR, Hanrahan C, Jackson JW, McAdams-DeMarco M, Ehrhardt S, Baral SD, D'Souza G, Dowdy DW. From Epidemiologic Knowledge to Improved Health: A Vision for Translational Epidemiology. Am J Epidemiol. 2019;188(12):2049-2060. doi:10.1093/aje/kwz085

Link to full article: https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/188/12/2049/5423750(link is external)   

If you have questions about the Translational Epidemiology Initiative, please contact Derek Ng (dng@jhu.edu) and Heather McKay (hmckay4@jhu.edu).