Advanced Epidemiology in Clinical and Genetic Research (MADE) – (M.Sc.)

Contents

MADE consists of a theoretical semester in a modular format and a research training semester.

The theoretical semester

The theoretical semester starts at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam. Courses include study design and data analysis, lectures on principles and methods of applied quantitative research in medicine and healthcare. Key topics are biostatistics, clinical research, epidemiology, human genetics, and health services and public health research.

Courses

Erasmus MC

• Principles of Research in Medicine and Epidemiology
• Genome Wide Association Analysis
• Principles of Genetic Epidemiology
• Topics in Meta-Analysis
• Health Economics
• Genomics in Molecular Medicine
• Advances in Epidemiologic Study Design
• Study Design
• Classical Methods for Data-analysis

In mid-October the courses continue at either LMU Munich or Erasmus MC. Both universities offer integrated and advanced courses that match one of the key objectives of MADE: the opportunity to integrate genetic, cellular and clinical perspectives. Students will take courses in clinical epidemiology, genetic epidemiology and advanced epidemiology, combining clinical and genetic epidemiology.

Courses and modules

Erasmus MC

• Clinical Epidemiology
• Genetic-epidemiologic Research Methods
• Advanced Genetic Analyses Module
• Epidemiology Module
• Erasmus Winter Programme Module
• Advanced Clinical and Genetic Epidemiology

LMU Munich

• Advanced Genetic Epidemiology I Module
• Advanced Genetic Epidemiology II Module
• Medical Informatics and Regulatory Issues in Clinical Research Module
• Advanced Clinical Epidemiology Module
• Advanced Clinical and Genetic Epidemiology

The research training semester

The second semester, starting at the beginning of February, includes the research training and the elective courses. The research training can be taken at each of the four universities, however not at the university where the student spend the previous three months (Erasmus MC or LMU Munich).

Research training involves designing and implementing a research project under the guidance and supervision of a personal tutor. A key strength of this consortium is that it offers research topics in clinical epidemiology, molecular/genetic epidemiology and the integration of both. The research areas includes major neurological and cardiovascular diseases, endocrinological determinants of diseases, paediatric studies, inflammation and immunology, environmental interactions, cancer epidemiology, chronic disease epidemiology, evidence synthesis, biostatistics and biomarkers, HIV, and musculoskeletal health. Students can participate in research on world-renowned large cohort studies, such as the Rotterdam Study and Generation R study (Erasmus MC), the children cohorts (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität), the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore), the Somerset and Avon Survey of Health, the Leicester cohorts and the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (all three datasets are managed by the Universität Bern).

A tutor will guide the student during the research training period, which will start with the student locating and reading relevant literature for his or hers research topic. The student may need to narrow the topic of the Masters‘ thesis down to a certain, specified research question. The data to answer the research question is already collected, as MADE students will always be working on an operational data set. Although Masters’ theses may also be of a more theoretical or methodological nature. With help of the tutor, the student will write and execute a data plan. This plan contains the analyses needed to answer the research question. After the data analyses, the results and their implications will be discussed with the tutor. The student will write a scientific paper, which will include introduction, methods, results and a discussion. During the research training, students are a part of the research group. They will attend research meetings, where data, results, papers and methods are discussed.

Successful completion of this training phase, the Masters‘ thesis, leads to a paper that is suitable for submission to an international peer-reviewed journal.

Elective courses

During the research training, students are encouraged to select elective courses that match their research work. Elective courses are advanced specialised courses that can be taken at each of the four universities. They are designed to either deepen students‘ insights into their research subject or broaden their understanding of clinical and genetic epidemiology, public health impact and policy. The elective courses taken have to add up to a minimum of one ECTS credit and a maximum of five credits.

The students are urged to choose electives at other sites than their research location, to ensure even broader academic development. Elective courses include Cancer Epidemiology (Erasmus MC), Family Based Genetic Analyses (Erasmus MC), Advanced Event Data Analysis (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität), Medical Systems Biology (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität), Ethical and sociocultural issues in Health Technology Assessment & Management and dissemination (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) and Ensuring Data Quality and Advanced Methods in Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (Universität Bern).

Accreditation

Erasmus University Rotterdam stands for quality of research and education. The quality of our academic programmes is ensured by various independent accreditation organisations. What follows is a list of organisations that have independently accredited our education, research or in some cases individual programmes...

NVAO

NVAO is the Netherlands and Flemish Accreditation Organisation— an independent accreditation organisation that ensures the quality of higher education in the Netherlands and Flanders by means of thorough and continuous programme assessment.

AACSB

AACSB International accreditation represents the highest standard of achievement for business schools, worldwide. Institutions that earn accreditation confirm their commitment to quality and continuous improvement through a rigorous and comprehensive peer review. AACSB International accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in management education.

Accreditation of research schools

Erasmus University Rotterdam Research Schools are accredited by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts & Sciences (KNAW). The Academy is entrusted by the government with the accreditation of all Dutch research schools. Research schools must apply for re-accreditation every six years.

AMBA

The Association of MBAs is internationally recognised as the global standard for all masters of business administration (MBA), doctorates in business administration (DBA) and masters in business and management (MBM) programmes. AMBA currently accredits MBA, DBA and MBM programmes at 145 business schools in 68 countries.

EQUIS - the European Quality Improvement System

EQUIS is the leading international system of quality assessment, improvement, and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration.

VSNU - Code of conduct for Dutch institutions

EUR subscribes to the Code of Conduct for Dutch Institutions. The Code helps ensure, among other things, that international study programmes are accredited by the NVAO. In addition, it calls for international students to receive clear information about the possibilities for study. It is an initiative of institutions, independent education-related organisations, and the Dutch Government.

EAPAA - European Association for Public Administration Accreditation

EAPAA is the European system of quality accreditation for academic degree programmes in public administration, public management and public policy.

Student services, facilities and activities

Erasmus University Rotterdam does its utmost to offer first-class on-campus facilities, student services and extracurricular activities. Students are offered various resources needed to work on their academic and social development which give depth to their studies. We believe that this is an important factor in academic success.

Student services

Alongside excellent facilities for studying, Erasmus University offers students additional support in many different ways to ensure that their time spent studying at the university is as enjoyable and convenient as possible. Services include: enrolment assistance, on student counseling, language support, to name but a few.

Erasmus University Rotterdam aspires to be an excellent and inspiring study and work environment for students. There are a number of facilities like bookstores, restaurants and even a bank that you can find right here on the campus.
Erasmus University Rotterdam encourages its international students to participate in wide variety of extracurricular activities. International students can join in on activities organized by study and sports associations, student fraternities and political/cultural student organisations.

The department of Student Affairs offers a wide range of courses, workshops, groups and training sessions for students of the Erasmus University Rotterdam throughout the academic year. The courses are supportive and additional to the regular study programme.

There may be a variety of special circumstances which can affect your performance at the university or the pace at which you can study. In some cases you may be eligible for help through the facilities and schemes organised by the university.