Gain the knowledge and skills that are critical to working in the field of pandemics.
10 January - 18 March 2022 (part-time)
This course is developed by the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST); a joint partnership with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), funded by UK Aid from the Department of Health and Social Care, alongside our global partners.
It is a master’s level online course that offers a focused perspective and approach to learning about pandemics. The course will outline the specific drivers, multi-disciplinary actors and response measures, and facilitate the critical appraisal of pandemic preparedness, response and research in different contexts.
The course has been designed to support development of skills and knowledge that are critical to effective pandemic preparedness and response. It will emphasise the value of interdisciplinary working, self-reflection, critical appraisal and synthesis.
On successful completion of the course, participants will also attain 20 academic credits (CATS - Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme) which can be used towards master’s level degree programmes.
Funding
A number of full course fee waivers are available, offered by the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST). Please check the funding section for further details.
Who is the course for?
This course will be of value to professionals looking to further their knowledge and skills specific to pandemics, with experience of the following relevant disciplines and/or areas of practice.
- Public health
- Epidemiology
- Data science
- Microbiology
- Virology
- Social science
- Case management
- Risk communication and community engagement
- Infection prevention and control
- Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
- Mental health
- Health policy
- Logistics
- Healthcare management
Aims
The course aims to:
- Offer learning opportunities for professionals working in disciplines related to disease outbreaks to develop skills and knowledge that are critical to working in the field of pandemics.
- Emphasise the value of interdisciplinary working, self-reflection, critical appraisal and synthesis for effective pandemic preparedness and response.
Objectives
By the end of the module, engaged participants will be able to:
- Explain the definitions of pandemics and critique their application in the 20th and 21st centuries.
- Identify context specific drivers and mitigations for emerging infectious diseases and pandemics.
- Critically evaluate methods for emerging infectious disease surveillance, including detection.
- Assess and critique the application of learning from emergence and spread of pandemics in the 20th and 21st centuries.
- Critique the utility of a range of epidemiological methods used to track the spread of infectious diseases.
- Critically appraise and prioritise the pillars of pandemic preparedness and response at local, national and international levels.
- Develop a national pandemic response plan using an interdisciplinary approach.
- Apply skills of interdisciplinary working, critical thinking, and synthesis to topics relating to pandemic preparedness, response and research.
Teaching and assessments
This is a part-time short course which consists of 20 hours of learning each week. This includes 5 hours of directed learning and 15 hours of self-directed learning. Teaching and assessment methods have been selected for their appropriateness and include use of group discussion, problem-based exercises, presentations, debates in addition to critical appraisal and synthesis of literature. View sample timetable.
During the course, participants will be guided in developing a personal portfolio and will have opportunities to obtain verbal and written feedback. In the summative assessment, participants will be expected to draw from the contents of their portfolio to evidence attainment of the learning outcomes. Formative assessments will be supported by peer and tutor feedback.
Teaching faculty and advisory committee
This course is developed by the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST); a joint partnership with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), funded by UK Aid from the Department of Health and Social Care, alongside our global partners.
- Course leads
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Brian McCloskey - Senior Consulting Fellow, Global Health Programme, Chatham House
David Heymann - Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, LSHTM
David Kennedy - Research Fellow in Data Science, UK-PHRST/LSHTM
Dilys Morgan - Consultant in Global Public Health, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
Dina Balabanova - Professor of Health Systems and Policy, LSHTM
Grace Brough - Specialty Registrar Public Health, Global Health Security / UK-PHRST, UK Health Security Agency
Hilary Bower - Assistant Professor/ Epidemiologist, LSHTM/UK-PHRST
Julianne Piper - Research Fellow & Project Coordinator, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Julie Collins - Research Fellow in Public Health, LSHTM/UK-PHRST
Kelley Lee - Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Global Health Governance, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Kris Murray - Associate Professor Environment and Health, LSHTM/MRC Unit The Gambia
Martin Hibbard - Chair of Emerging Infectious Diseases, LSHTM
Maryirene Ibeto - Research Fellow in Education, UK-PHRST/LSHTM
Olubukola Idoko - Clinical Trial Coordinator/Paediatrician LSHTM/MRC Unit The Gambia
Osama Ahmed - Consultant, Global Health Programme, Chatham House; Senior Research Epidemiologist, Department of Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Umeå University, Sweden
Osman Dar - Consultant in Global Health, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); One Health Project Director, Chatham House; Panel member of One Health High Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP), Independent International
Richard Kock - Professor, Wildlife Health and Emerging Diseases, Royal Veterinary College
Rosanna Peeling - Professor of Diagnostics Research, LSHTM
Sarah Staedke - Professor of Malaria and Global Health, LSHTM
Scott Chiossi - Research Analyst, Chatham House
Shelley Lees - Professor Anthropology of Public Health, LSHTM
Susannah Mayhew - Professor, LSHTM
- Advisory committee
-
Alex Ario - Program Director of the Uganda Public Health Fellowship Program (Advanced FETP); Director, Uganda National Institute of Public Health
Andrew Corwin - Lecturer/staff, Global Health Program, Faculty of Public Health, Thammasat University
Anna Seale - Professor of Public Health, University of Warwick
Arlinda Cerga Pashoja - Assistant Professor, LSHTM; Training Lead, UKHSA/UK-PHRST
Chikwe Ihekweazu - Incoming Assistant Director-General, WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence
Claire Bayntun - Vice President, Royal Society of Medicine; Consultant in Global Public Health, UK Health Security Agency; Honorary Clinical Consultant, Global Leadership Programmes, LSHTM; Consultant, World Bank
Daniel Bausch - Director of Emerging Threats and Global Health Security, The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND); Professor of Tropical Medicine, LSHTM; President-Elect, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Ester Cerdeira Sabino - Professor, University of Sao Paulo
Felix Ocom - Deputy Manager of the National Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, Ministry of Health, Uganda; Deputy Chair of the surveillance sub-committee of the national task force (NTF) for epidemics
Gabriel Leung - Dean of Medicine/Professor, University of Hong Kong
Heidi Hopkins - Associate Professor, LSHTM
Hilary Bower - Assistant Professor/ Epidemiologist, LSHTM/UK-PHRST
Hitoshi Oshitani - Professor Department of Virology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine
Hsu Li Yang - Vice Dean (Global Health)/Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases)/ Associate Professor, National University of Singapore Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health
James Logan - Professor Head of The Department of Disease Control and Director of ARCTEC, LSHTM
Jenny Fogarty - Senior Lecturer in Education Development, City, University of London
Joshua Kayiwa - Head Information Management, Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC), Ministry of Health of Uganda
Martin Hibberd - Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases, LSHTM
Mayfong Mayxay - Vice-president of the Lao University of Health Sciences, Ministry of Health; Visiting Professor of Tropical Medicine; Associate Professor, Lao University of Health Sciences
Merawi Aragaw - Medical Epidemiologist and Head of Emergency Preparedness and Response Division at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)
Mike Hill - Assistant Professor in Learning and Teaching, LSHTM
Moa Maria Ulrika - LSHTM (student); Research Associate, Centre for Research on Healthcare in Disasters, Karolinska Institute; Epidemiologist, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Nabila Youssouf - Clinical Trial Manager, LSHTM
Ngozi Erondu - Senior Scholar, Global Health Policy & Politics Initiative, O’Neill Institute, Georgetown University
Olubukola Idoko - Clinical Trial Coordinator/ Paediatrician, LSHTM/MRC Unit The Gambia
Osman Dar - Consultant in Global Health, UK Health Security Agency; One Health Project Director, Chatham House; Panel member of One Health High Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP), Independent International
Richard Kock - Professor, Royal Veterinary College
Rosanna Peeling - Professor & Chair of Diagnostics Research, LSHTM
Rumina Hasan - Consultant Clinical Microbiologist and Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University; Honorary Professor, LSHTM
Shelley Lees - Professor in Anthropology of Public Health, LSHTM
Silvia Figueiredo Costa - Professor, University of Sao Paulo
Vernon Lee - Adjunct Professor, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore; Senior Director of Communicable Diseases, Ministry of Health, Singapore; Council Member of the Academy of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Wendy Graham - Professor of Obstetric Epidemiology, LSHTM; Emeritus Professor, University of Aberdeen
A number of full course fee waivers are available, offered by the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST).
UK-PHRST is funded through UK Aid under Official Development Assistance (ODA), which supports low- and middle-income countries.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must hold an offer of admission for the course. The fee waiver will be awarded to applicants who are nationals of, and working in, an ODA eligible country.
How to apply
Applications for course fee waivers are now closed.
Successful applicants will meet the following professional and academic criteria:
- An upper second class honours degree (2:1) or above in a relevant discipline, a degree in medicine at the same standard, or another degree of equivalent awarded by an overseas institution recognised by UK NARIC or Barrons,
OR
- A professional qualification in a relevant discipline obtained by written examinations and judged by the School to be equivalent to an upper second class honours degree (2:1) or above
AND
- Prior professional experience of at least one year in a field linked with disease outbreak response or research.
Any prospective student who does not meet the above entry requirement, but who has relevant professional experience, may still be eligible for admission. For further enquiries please contact shortcourses@lshtm.ac.uk
English language requirements
If English is not your first language, you will need to meet these requirements: Band B
It is essential that all students have a good command of the English language to benefit from their studies at the LSHTM. As part of the application process, applicants are required to demonstrate how they meet the LSHTM’s minimum English language requirements.
Please see our English Language Requirements FAQs for information
Applying for this course
Applications are now closed. Register your interest to be notified when applications reopen.
Please read LSHTM's Admissions policies prior to submitting your application.