Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the basic science of public health genomics, concerned with understanding how human and pathogen genomic variation affects the distribution of disease in populations .

The Office of Public Health Genomics tracks epidemiologic study results in our weekly horizon scan and Advanced Molecular Detection Clips and deposits relevant publications in the Public Health Genomics Knowledge Base.

In addition, the Office established the Human Genome Epidemiology Network (HuGENet) to help translate human genetic research findings into opportunities for preventive medicine and public health. For more than a decade, HuGENet has advanced a population perspective on human genetic variation in health and disease through data synthesis, interpretation, and dissemination.

To learn more about Human Genome Epidemiology resources, please click on the links below.

A Primer Series on -Omic Technologies for the Practice of Epidemiology

• Editorial: A Primer Series on -Omic Technologies for the Practice of Epidemiology.External
  Muin J. Khoury.  Am. J. Epidemiol. (2014) 180 (2): 127-128
• Design and Analysis for Studying microRNAs in Human Disease: A Primer on -Omic Technologies.External Viswam S. Nair, Colin C. Pritchard, Muneesh Tewari and John P. A. Ioannidis. Am. J. Epidemiol. (2014) 180 (2): 140-152
• Design and Analysis of Metabolomics Studies in Epidemiologic Research: A Primer on -Omic Technologies.External
  Ioanna Tzoulaki, Timothy M. D. Ebbels, Ana Valdes, Paul Elliott and John P. A. Ioannidis. Am. J. Epidemiol. (2014) 180 (2): 129-139
• Toward a Road Map for Global -Omics: A Primer on -Omic Technologies.External
  Steven S. Coughlin. Am. J. Epidemiol. (2014) 180 (12): 1188-1195
• Epidemiologic Design and Analysis for Proteomic Studies: A Primer on -Omic Technologies.External
  Harald Mischak, Elena Critselis, Samir Hanash, William M. Gallagher, Antonia Vlahou and John P. A. Ioannidis. Am. J. Epidemiol. (2015) 181 (9): 635-647
• Use of the Microbiome in the Practice of Epidemiology: A Primer on -Omic Technologies.External
  Betsy Foxman and Emily T. Martin. Am. J. Epidemiol. (2015) 182 (1): 1-8
• Genome-Wide Epigenetic Studies in Human Disease: A Primer on -Omic TechnologiesExternal
  Huihuang Yan, Shulan Tian, Susan L. Slager, Zhifu Sun and Tamas Ordog.  Am. J. Epidemiol. (2016) 183 (2): 96-109
• Use of the “Exposome” in the Practice of Epidemiology: A Primer on -Omic Technologies
  D. Gayle DeBord, Tania Carreón, Thomas J. Lentz, Paul J. Middendorf, Mark D. Hoover, and Paul A. Schulte. Am. J. Epidemiol. (2016) 184 (4): 302-314
• Human Genome Sequencing at the Population Scale: A Primer on High-Throughput DNA Sequencing and AnalysisExternal
  Rachel L Goldfeder; Dennis P Wall; Muin J Khoury; John P A Ioannidis; Euan A Ashley. Am. J. Epidemiol. (2017) 186 (8): 1000-1009

NEW: Special 2017 articles on Gene-Environment Interaction in Epidemiology

• Editorial: Emergence of Gene-Environment Interaction Analysis in Epidemiologic ResearchExternal
  Muin J. KhouryExternal  American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 186, Issue 7, 1 October 2017, Pages 751–752.
• Current Challenges and New Opportunities for Gene-Environment Interaction Studies of Complex DiseasesExternal
  Kimberly McAllisterExternal et al, American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 186, Issue 7, 1 October 2017, Pages 753–761.
• Update on the State of the Science for Analytical Methods for Gene-Environment InteractionsExternal
  James GaudermanExternal et al. American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 186, Issue 7, 1 October 2017, Pages 762–770.
• Incorporation of Biological Knowledge Into the Study of Gene-Environment InteractionsExternal
  Marylyn D. RitchieExternal et al.  American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 186, Issue 7, 1 October 2017, Pages 771–777.
• Lessons Learned From Past Gene-Environment Interaction SuccessesExternal
  Beate R. RitzExternal et al. American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 186, Issue 7, 1 October 2017, Pages 778–786.0

Selected CDC Articles

• Planning for the Future of Epidemiology in the Era of Big Data and Precision Medicine.External
  Khoury Muin J. Am J Epidemiol. 2015 Dec 15;182(12):977-9.
• Charting a future for epidemiologic training.External
  Brownson Ross C et al. Ann Epidemiol 2015 Jun (6) 458-65
• Opportunities for translational epidemiology: the important role of observational studies to advance precision oncology.External
  Marrone Michael et al. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 2015 Mar (3) 484-9
• Epigenetic research in cancer epidemiology: Trends, opportunities, and challenges.External
  Mukesh Verma et al. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention (2014)
• The Next Generation of Large-Scale Epidemiologic Research: Implications for Training Cancer Epidemiologists. External
  Spitz MR, Lam TK, Schully SD, Khoury MJ. Am J Epidemiol. 2014 Sep 18. pii: kwu256.
• Transforming epidemiology for 21st century population health in the age of genomics and big data,External
  CEBP (2013)
• Q&A: Muin Khoury on cancer epidemiology.External
  Cancer Discov. 2014 Feb;4(2):140.

Check out all CDC publications in epidemiology and public health genomics.

Epidemiology Resources

• HuGE Navigator
  A searchable, online knowledge base in human genome epidemiology, updated weekly from PubMed.
• Guidelines
  Published recommendations for enhancing the reporting, synthesis, and translation of human genome epidemiology research.
• Bibliography
  Published guidelines, methods, analyses, and commentaries in human genome epidemiology.
• Reviews
  Instructions for reading and writing HuGE Reviews.
• Case studies
  Self-guided online case studies for teaching concepts in human genome epidemiology.
• HuGENet Workshops
  Agendas and summaries for past HuGENet workshops.
• Links
  Links to organizations and databases around the world.
• Advanced Molecular Detection Clips
  Links to epidemiology articles relevant to pathogen genomics.
• Public Health Genomics Knowledge Base
  CDC curated database that features epidemiologic studies of human and pathogen genomics.