Improving Our Everyday

Make a difference in public health by advancing knowledge on the causes of diseases and the promotion of health through research and education. The department of epidemiology (EPI) has distinguished faculty committed to excellence in teaching and research. Our department benefits from the expertise of about 45 primarily appointed faculty, over 60 jointly appointed faculty, and over 40 adjunct faculty. From day one, students receive one-on-one advisement from faculty and department staff eager to guide them on their public health journey at Rollins.

Exceptional practicum experiences and career opportunities

Studying epidemiology in Atlanta, a hub for public health, provides unique opportunities for students to apply learning to a variety of professional settings as part of their Rollins experience. Opportunities are both global and local and include:

American Cancer Society
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Deloitte
Kaiser Permanente
The Carter Center
The Task Force for Global Health

Within the department, we are focused on training the next generation of influential public health professionals. We incorporate professionalism and soft skills into the curriculum to prepare our students for successful and influential public health careers.

Gain skills necessary to be an influential public health professional.

"I have been able to collaborate with an amazing professor from the Epidemiology and Global Epidemiology department. I was able to reach out and connect to this faculty member and asked him to be my thesis mentor. He has given me tasks such as IRB proposals, survey assessment, survey creation and distribution. My thesis involves data collection and funding, so this entire process is a real-world example of the kind of work that goes into data collection, analyzing, and interpretation of EPI surveillance project."

Andrea Torres, MPH ’23, Epidemiology

Learn from a diverse group of faculty committed to health equity.

Collaboration is essential for public health and is an integral component of our department. Students often collaborate with faculty, epidemiologists, and scientists within our affiliated research centers.

Meet Our Faculty

“There is still a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done to protect and advance public health. Epidemiology—as a critical science of public health—contributes the research findings and descriptive data necessary to drive the public health mission forward. The Department of Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health is committed to this mission. Our students, scientists, and staff engage in research and public health practice programs spanning the breadth of critical public health problems.”

Timothy L. Lash, DSc, MPH

Professor and Epidemiology Chair

“We’re really lucky at Emory with our networks to have a huge pool of trainees looking for mentors. The interest in infectious disease epidemiology has skyrocketed over the past several years, so there’s a critical need for mentors with expertise in this area.” 

Sarita Shah, MD

Professor

“The response to the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the central role of outbreak analytics for informing public health decision-making. But, despite rapid advances in the field, the pandemic exposed the wide gap that remains between analytical methodology and the on-the-ground realities of an emergency. The Emory Center for Infectious Disease Modeling & Analytics and Training Hub (CIDMATH) will work closely with the CDC and community partners to design, implement, and refine new and enhanced analytical tools, to generate critical novel data streams and provide training for multiple levels of the infectious disease epidemiology and modeling community.” 

Benjamin Lopman, PhD

Professor

"The problems we’re facing didn’t start yesterday, and the solutions probably aren’t going to be completed by tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean that either there isn’t a role for incremental change, or that there isn’t a role for critical thinking about fundamental problems, so we need to engage in both. What I love about public health is that it can be about those things. We can work within the system, but there’s also room for big, aspirational thinking."

Michael Kramer, PhD, MMSc

Associate Professor

Research is at our core

Our research portfolio covers areas from infectious diseases to chronic diseases, from molecular epidemiology to social determinants of health, and from foundational early research to implementation science. Students have the opportunity to engage in research projects in such areas as:

Depression and cardiovascular outcomes

Disparities in breast cancer mortality

Environmental exposures

Infectious disease modeling

Nutrition and physical activity

Social epidemiology

Advance public health through research and education

Improving Our Everyday

Exceptional practicum experiences and career opportunities

Gain skills necessary to be an influential public health professional.

Learn from a diverse group of faculty committed to health equity.

Research is at our core

Epidemiology News

Allison Chamberlain Named Director of Research and Practice Relations with DPH

Vaccinations Lag as Respiratory Viruses Surge

Better Data Needed to Prevent Maternal and Infant Deaths