Tilahun Adera, Ph.D., MPH, Chairman
and Interim Program Director
The mission of the Ph.D. program in epidemiology is to serve the citizens of Virginia by educating and training students to become independent, competent and self-directed research scientists so they can conduct outstanding clinical and population-based research. Students will learn methods for studying disease etiology and prevention in populations and evaluating interventions, diagnostic tests and treatment efficacy; they will implement such methods in an independent research study under the mentorship of an experienced epidemiology researcher.
Upon graduation, students will be able to define specific research questions or hypotheses; work either independently or in collaboration with other departments, programs or organizations; design and conduct the appropriate research studies to address the questions/ hypotheses; clearly communicate the findings to appropriate audiences; and guide the use of such findings in clinical practice and public health policy.
