Master in Epidemiology and Biomedical Data Science University of Oulu

Master's Program in Epidemiology and Biomedical Data Science, Master of Science (Health Sciences) (2 years)

Graduates of EBDS will be able to:

• Design epidemiological studies.
• Build statistical models.
• Produce new knowledge transferable to public health intervention, health policy, and precision medicine.

EBDS is a part of the University of Oulu's flagship program on the molecular and environmental determinants of life-long health and its pioneering longitudinal cohorts. The program utilizes expertise across many units, research groups, and faculties. This new international Master's Program offers a comprehensive skillset for its students.

"The knowledge gained will help graduates to better understand the complex bio-psychosocial aetiology of chronic diseases, i.e. obesity, type-2 diabetes, depression, and emergent epidemics, like Covid-19."

The graduates will learn how to design population-based studies, collect and manage data, and model, visualize and interpret the associations between health-related data to dissect the causal and non-causal relationships. Students will train with one of the largest collections of real life-course data and biobanks, which means they will have an exceptionally rich set of socio-demographic, health, and multi-omic data at their use.

After completing the master's degree, the student is able to:

• Collect and manage data.
• Identify and integrate multiple sources of data.
• Analyze and interpret data.
• Interpret causal and non-causal relationships.
• Conduct research work independently and in teams by using scientific research methods.
• Communicate research findings orally and in writing clearly and analytically.
• Broaden and deepen one’s know-how independently, in view of life-long learning.

The University of Oulu is an international study environment in general and the EBDS program is no different: many of the staff come from countries other than Finland and the program is based on a very large network of European universities. This collaboration means there are many opportunities for students in terms of international thesis projects, internships or seminars.

An important part of the multidisciplinary program is the development of and training in statistical and biostatistical approach for medical research. The program is much more involved in epidemiological methodology and in very large data analysis when compared to similar programs. EBDS is very research-oriented with the goal of training future researchers in the field.

There are also many different career paths for those who graduate from this program, such as:

• Community Health Worker
• Environmental Scientists and Specialists
• Field Investigator
• Health Department Administrator
• Health Education Specialist
• Health Services Manager
• Data Scientist
• Minority Health Administrator
• Research Coordinator

The ability to collect, manage and analyze data from different sources and translate the research into solutions for public health needs is going to be very useful in the future and will lead to many exciting and varied career opportunities, both in academia and in the public and private sectors. The knowledge gained will help graduates to better understand the complex bio-psychosocial etiology of chronic diseases, ie. obesity, type-2 diabetes, depression, and emergent epidemics, like Covid-19.