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Unit of study_

PUBH5126: Genomics and Public Health

2021 unit information

This unit caters for practitioners, policy and decision-makers, students and researchers in public health, public policy, journalism, law, epidemiology, medicine, science, industry, ethics, philosophy, screening, communication and advocacy. It gives a basic introduction to concepts in genetics and genomics, and covers real-life examples of how genetics and genomics is used in health settings including genomics for COVID-19 control, genomic testing and screening for cancer, familial hypercholesterolemia, newborns, community settings, and in outbreak investigations. It covers epidemiological, psychosocial, legal, ethical, education and policy aspects of genomic testing, and genetic determinants of disease.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Medicine and Health

Study level Postgraduate
Academic unit Public Health
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
? 
PUBH5010 or CEPI5100
Corequisites:
? 
None
Prohibitions:
? 
None
Assumed knowledge:
? 
Basic epidemiology No previous knowledge of genetics is required

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. Define the general structure and functions of genes, their roles in health and disease and the concept of ‘penetrance’.
  • LO2. Identify the basic study designs to determine how strongly a disease is genetically determined and the contribution of gene and environment interaction to its cause
  • LO3. Evaluate the potential benefits and harms of genetic testing and genomic screening
  • LO4. Understand and critique the legal, ethical and psychosocial aspects of genomic information, practice and research
  • LO5. Identify and evaluate the potential that genomics and genomic research has to prevent disease and promote health
  • LO6. Identify new directions in genetics and genomics
  • LO7. Work cooperatively and collaboratively with other students on assessment tasks
  • LO8. Direct one’s own continuing education in genomics and public health

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

There are no availabilities for this year.
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Intensive October 2021
Block mode Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

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