Bringing epidemiology to undergrads

An undergraduate course Dr. Cecile Janssens launched six years ago has taken on new importance. The professor of epidemiology created Critiquing Health News after spotting media coverage of a seriously flawed study. 

Part of a collaboration between Rollins and the Emory College Center for the Study of Human Health, the class is part of a new undergrad focus in epidemiology. False claims that have proliferated during the COVID-19 pandemic make the ability to consume news critically even more important. “Scientific research is not abracadabra. It needs to make sense,” says Janssens, pictured above. “If you can look critically at how the researchers conducted the study, you have a better opportunity to understand and consider if the claims are justified.”