Health Sciences

This course trains students in critical assessment of the evidence on cancer screening. It provides a solid introduction to the major concepts, theories, and debates relevant to screening, with a particular focus on early detection of cancer. Emphasis is placed on understanding the rationale for screening and evaluation of screening outcomes. This course provides an overview of the main cancer screening programs that have been implemented in Denmark. Students are trained in applying epidemiologic methods to screening. The roles of Randomized Controlled Trials, cross-sectional studies (e.g. split-sample studies), cohort studies, and case-control studies are determined. Main effect measures, for both positive and adverse outcomes, are defined and calculated on real-life data. This course provides arguments against using survival as the effect measure, and it covers the meaning of concepts such as target population, attenders, self-selection, over-diagnosis, overtreatment, and more.

This course focuses on the biochemical and physiological foundations underpinning the relationship between nutrition and exercise performance and how diet and physical activity impact on health. In the first half of the course, the influence of macro and micro nutrients on athletic performance is closely examined. In the second half of the course, the influence of exercise and nutrition on the development, prevention and management of diseases such as obesity, type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease are addressed.

This course introduces the field of food science and technology. It touches very lightly on various aspects of the field including chemistry, nutrition, biochemistry, processing and regulation. The course examines the current thinking and information in regards to the importance of diet and health. It explores traditional and more modern views on what constitutes an adequate and healthy diet. The course examines the composition of food, potential contaminants of food, as well as how an individual should balance their diet in relation to specific needs.

This course provides a study on how to scientifically evaluate the use of medicinal plants for clinical application. Topics covered include: development of the concepts of ethnobotany and ethnopharmacy; ethnopharmacological methodology; pharmacological methods; natural products; system studies; phytomedicines, compounds and medicinal plants.