Public Health was defined by C-E.A. Winslow as the science and the art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical health and efficiency through organized community efforts with the goal of enabling every citizen to realize his/her birthright of health and longevity.
The disciplines of epidemiology and biostatistics are essential to achieving the goals of public health, and combining these two disciplines in a single department creates synergies for both training and research. Epidemiologists study the distribution and determinants of health and disease in populations. Biostatisticians develop and apply statistical theory, methods and techniques to public health research data and the planning, implementation and evaluation of public health programs. Given the strong overlap, epidemiologists and biostatisticians often collaborate to work toward the shared goal of generating and analyzing data to advance the public’s health.
Within the department, the degree programs are administered under two separate streams, the Division of Epidemiology and Division of Biostatistics.
Find out more about the department and what we offer in our welcome from the Chair.
We offer eight advanced degrees in epidemiology and biostatistics. Each graduate degree has specific application deadlines and requirements.
Director:
Dr. Robert Moran, Graduate Director for Biostatistics
Directors:
Directors:
2024 has been a banner year for the USC Prevention Research Center, which received its highest funding award to date (nearly $5 million) plus additional funding for two special interest projects.
Enakshi Saha joined the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics to continue her research on tailoring therapy to individual genetic backgrounds. She was attracted to Arnold school's reputation for high-impact research, particularly in the area of health disparities.
During her time in the Ph.D. in Epidemiology program, Xuanxuan Zhu zeroed in on maternal and child health, developing research interests in pediatric epidemiology and physical activity epidemiology.
Arnold School faculty Anthony Alberg, Elizabeth Crouch, and Rahul Ghosal and alumni Bezawit Kase, Stephanie Chiodini, & Virginie Daguise were proud to contribute to this important project.
A 2012 graduate of the Arnold School's Ph.D. in Epidemiology program, Nelís Soto-Ramírez gained a dozen years of professional and research experience before returning to the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics as a clinical assistant professor.
The Arnold School has already been home to Kyndall Dye-Braumuller for the past five years, and the Ph.D. in Epidemiology graduate ('22) and postdoctoral fellow recently accepted a research assistant professor position.
Ph.D. in Biostatistics candidate Xiaowen Sun entered the field because she was passionate about using statistical methods to solve real-world problems. She's particularly interested in using machine and deep learning to improve medical research and public health through data analysis.