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The mission of the Epidemiology and Population Health Program is to reduce health inequities among population groups by exploring determinants of health factors such as social structures, the environment, health behaviors, resource distribution, quality gaps, policy impacts, (etc.) on clinical outcomes and community health. Our graduates, students, and faculty work in interdisciplinary teams to inform policy and clinical practice in order to improve the health of the individual and society.  

Population health is defined as the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group. Epidemiology is the scientific study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, serving as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine. Epidemiology is considered a cornerstone of population health and the methodology of public health research and is highly regarded in evidence-based medicine for identifying risk factors for disease and determining optimal treatment approaches to clinical practice.  

Students will acquire skills in data collection, data analysis and interpretation, disease surveillance systems, epidemiologic methods, managerial epidemiology, population health improvement, study design, and statistical software. Our program’s expertise in research and public health practice focuses in the following areas: Cancer, Environmental Health, Infectious Diseases, Health Systems Analysis, HIV & STD, Population Health Management, and Social Determinants of Health.  

Our program prepares students for jobs across the fields of health: health care (including managed care), and research, academia, local, regional, and national government agencies and departments of public health, hospital and healthcare systems, private industry, and community and not-for-profit organizations. 

Our graduates acquire a diverse skill set that enables them to improve the health of the population in the clinic and the community. 

Program contact:

Tekeda F. Ferguson, PhD, MSPH
Associate Professor
Email: tferg4@lsuhsc.edu

Admissions contact:

Mei-Chin Hsieh, PhD, MSPH
Associate Professor
Phone: (504) 568-5850; Email: epid_admissions@lsuhsc.edu