TY - JOUR
T1 - Interdisciplinary education to integrate pathology and epidemiology
T2 - Towards molecular and population-level health science
AU - Ogino, Shuji
AU - King, Emily E.
AU - Beck, Andrew H.
AU - Sherman, Mark E.
AU - Milner, Danny A.
AU - Giovannucci, Edward
PY - 2012/10/15
Y1 - 2012/10/15
N2 - In recent decades, epidemiology, public health, and medical sciences have been increasingly compartmentalized into narrower disciplines. The authors recognize the value of integration of divergent scientific fields in order to create new methods, concepts, paradigms, and knowledge. Herein they describe the recent emergence of molecular pathological epidemiology (MPE), which represents an integration of population and molecular biologic science to gain insights into the etiologies, pathogenesis, evolution, and outcomes of complex multifactorial diseases. Most human diseases, including common cancers (such as breast, lung, prostate, and colorectal cancers, leukemia, and lymphoma) and other chronic diseases (such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, psychiatric diseases, and some infectious diseases), are caused by alterations in the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome, microbiome, and interactome of all of the above components. In this era of personalized medicine and personalized prevention, we need integrated science (such as MPE) which can decipher diseases at the molecular, genetic, cellular, and population levels simultaneously. The authors believe that convergence and integration of multiple disciplines should be commonplace in research and education. We need to be open-minded and flexible in designing integrated education curricula and training programs for future students, clinicians, practitioners, and investigators.
AB - In recent decades, epidemiology, public health, and medical sciences have been increasingly compartmentalized into narrower disciplines. The authors recognize the value of integration of divergent scientific fields in order to create new methods, concepts, paradigms, and knowledge. Herein they describe the recent emergence of molecular pathological epidemiology (MPE), which represents an integration of population and molecular biologic science to gain insights into the etiologies, pathogenesis, evolution, and outcomes of complex multifactorial diseases. Most human diseases, including common cancers (such as breast, lung, prostate, and colorectal cancers, leukemia, and lymphoma) and other chronic diseases (such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, psychiatric diseases, and some infectious diseases), are caused by alterations in the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome, microbiome, and interactome of all of the above components. In this era of personalized medicine and personalized prevention, we need integrated science (such as MPE) which can decipher diseases at the molecular, genetic, cellular, and population levels simultaneously. The authors believe that convergence and integration of multiple disciplines should be commonplace in research and education. We need to be open-minded and flexible in designing integrated education curricula and training programs for future students, clinicians, practitioners, and investigators.
KW - education, public health professional
KW - health care reform
KW - individualized medicine
KW - interdisciplinary communication
KW - molecular epidemiology
KW - pathology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84864613664&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84864613664&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/aje/kws226
DO - 10.1093/aje/kws226
M3 - Article
C2 - 22935517
AN - SCOPUS:84864613664
SN - 0002-9262
VL - 176
SP - 659
EP - 667
JO - American journal of epidemiology
JF - American journal of epidemiology
IS - 8
ER -