Departments

College of Public Health Departments

Biostatistics
Biostatistics is the science of applying statistical discipline to the complex problems presented in all areas of biology and medicine. The Biostatistics Department collaborates with scientists, physicians, clinical investigators and other researchers, provides statistical consulting, teaches courses in biostatistics, and conducts methodological research.

The mission of the Biostatistics Department is to provide leadership in the application of quantitative sciences in collaborations with clinical, laboratory, and community investigators in the planning, conduct, analysis, and interpretation of research studies.

The Department's expertise includes clinical trials, study design, survival analysis, generalized linear models, longitudinal analysis, survey methodology, and analysis of microarray gene-expression data and other high-dimensional data. Department members can assist investigators in planning and designing scientific studies, developing efficient and effective means of collecting and managing data, and discerning, strengthening, and communicating findings.

Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health
The mission of the Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health is to foster research, education and service that lead to improvements in environmental health, agricultural health, and occupational health and safety. In addition, the Department works to decrease toxicological problems associated with environmental and occupational exposures and foster more sustainable environments. This mission will be accomplished through multi-campus, interdisciplinary collaborations.

Epidemiology 
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution, causes and prevention of disease and injury in human populations. The Department of Epidemiology conducts research on a broad range of health outcomes and exposures, trains public health practitioners and researchers, and serves communities locally and globally.  Current areas of expertise cover occupational and environmental exposures, infectious and chronic diseases, and epidemiologic methods.

Health Services Research & Administration
The Health Services Research & Administration Department promotes interdisciplinary research to investigate and plan for policy relevant to the delivery of health services.

Mission: Through state and national leadership in rural health services research and education, the Department of Health Services Research and Administration seeks to influence the content and implementation of public policies in ways that improve the health of Nebraskans and all rural residents in the United States.

Health Promotion, Social & Behavioral Health 
The Department of Health Promotion, Social and Behavioral Health aims to enable populations and communities to achieve optimal health – a balance of physical, mental, and social health – through social and behavioral change and the creation of environments that are conducive to healthy lifestyles.  The Department conducts research, teaching, and service at the international, national, state, and local levels across a broad spectrum of public health areas that include:

• Adolescent Risk Behaviors
• Aesthetic and Humanistic Influences on Health
• Community-Oriented Primary Care
• Cross-Cultural Health and Health Inequities
• Environmental Sustainability and Health
• Inter-Professionalism
• Maternal and Child Health
• Nutrition
• Obesity Prevention and Control
• Physical Activity and Inactivity
• Clinical and Public Health Ethics and Law
• School Health
• Sexual Health
• Social Marketing
• Socio-Behavioral Economics
• Substance Use and Abuse
• Systems Science and Public Health
• Tobacco Control

The Department offers a PhD in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research as well as an MPH in Community Health Education.  New MPH concentrations in Maternal and Child Health and Community-Oriented Primary Care are being developed, as is a number of dual degree programs with both clinical and traditionally non-health disciplines.  In addition, several faculty members participate in the Humanities and Public Health track of the university-wide interdisciplinary PhD program (Medical Sciences Interdepartmental Area).  The Department performs observational and epidemiological studies on the determinants, mechanisms, and consequences of behavior, health, and disease, as well as intervention, evaluation, and dissemination research, using qualitative and quantitative methodologies from analytical, community-based participatory, and systems science approaches. 

Faculty in the department play major roles in the broad public health community, such as serving as experts to the U.S. Government, funding agencies, local and state health-oriented organizations, the Nebraska Medical Center Medical Ethics Committee and its Ethics Consultation Service, and the UNMC Institutional Review Board.