Nutritional Epidemiology

The Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy offers both Master's and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Nutritional Epidemiology. The program is designed to train students in the design, implementation, and analysis of epidemiologic studies that address questions of dietary intake and nutritional status. Affiliated faculty, selected for their leadership in the fields of both nutrition and epidemiology, impart the highest standard of excellence in education through both teaching and research experiences. The interactive relationship with other programs within the school; with the Tufts University School of Medicine, the New England Medical Center, and the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, provides a rich environment for collaborative and cross-discipline instruction. Our affiliation with several longitudinal studies, including the Framingham Heart Study, the Normative Aging Study, the Jackson Heart Study, and the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging, provides opportunities for direct research experience. Students who complete the Nutritional Epidemiology program will graduate with the necessary analytical, technical, and communication skills required for preeminent research and teaching positions in academics and government.

Why study Nutritional Epidemiology?

The effects of dietary intake and nutritional status on health are complex. Multiple nutrients work together in the body, with differing impacts on different systems and under differing environmental conditions. The effects of dietary intake may be modified or confounded by other exposures, including physical activity, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Under-standing and untangling specific effects requires an understanding of the complex interactions among exposures and the technical skills for clarifying them in population-based data. This requires training in nutritional biochemistry, biostatistics, and epidemiology. Although controlled human studies are important to the clarification of specific biologic actions, relationships between behaviors and exposures and health outcome need to be tested in free-living settings, where other factors are not controlled. Results may also vary in different groups and environments. Epidemiologic studies may generate important new ideas about health risks or protective factors, and offer suggestions for public health policy.

What You Will Learn

The curriculum combines traditional academic course work with practical training, so that students acquire an in-depth knowledge in general nutrition, nutritional biochemistry and physiology, biostatistics, and epidemiology. They develop an understanding of how to design and conduct epidemiologic research studies, and gain hands-on experience in essential techniques in data analysis and presentation. Students take most of their academic courses at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and at the School of Medicine. Additional courses in advanced epidemiology are available by cross-registration at Boston University.

Degrees Offered
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