Computational Precision Health

PhD Academics DRAFT

CPH 270 class

Program Requirements (~ 5 years)

Students will enter the PhD program in Computational Precision Health from a wide range of backgrounds, so each program of study will be personalized and tailored to each student’s background and goals.

The doctoral program provides training in the Computational Sciences as applied to and contextualized in the Health Sciences. Students will develop deep competency in framing and addressing pressing real-world questions in the biomedical and public health communities using computational methods.

Computational Sciences

  • AI, machine learning, parallel computing and data at scale
  • Algorithms, numerical analysis, natural language processing, knowledge representation
  • Principles of statistical inference and modeling, statistical computing, estimation and inference with high dimensional sparse data, loss-based estimation and cross validation, formal causal inference
  • Health informatics: electronic health records, data standards, privacy, IT policy, interoperability

Health Sciences

  • Clinical decision sciences and cognitive informatics: diagnosis, treatment planning, decision support systems, evidence-based medicine, medical ontologies
  • Clinical delivery: learning health systems, patient-centered care, etc.
  • Clinical research: decentralized (mobile) clinical trials, hyper-personalized studies (e.g., N-of-1, Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions (JITAI)), implementation science
  • Health information policy: data sharing during pandemics

Curriculum

200

CPH 200A, B and C: Computational Precision Health Cornerstone

3 semester units × 2 terms

This course series uses Problem-Based Learning to build student ability to work effectively in interdisciplinary teams.

201

CPH 201: Computational Precision Health Practicum

2 semester units × 2 terms

This series augments the Cornerstone to provide deep exposure to the clinical and public health context.

215

CPH 215: Lab Rotations

At least 4 units

Students will take two 10-week research group rotations in their first year on each campus.

270

CPH 270: Computational Precision Health Doctoral Seminar

2 semester units × 6 terms

Students will enroll in six terms of the doctoral seminar with journal club discussions and presentations.

Qualifying Exams

The oral qualifying exam is an important milestone, intended to certify that a PhD candidate is on track to progress to the research phase of their graduate studies. Each student should pass the QE by the end of the fourth semester.
  • The exam will evaluate the depth of student knowledge in their research area, breadth of knowledge in fundamentals of computational precision health, ability to formulate a research plan, and critical thinking.
  • The QE in CPH will cover fundamentals of computational science, fundamentals of health science, and the student’s area of specialization.

QE Committee

  • The QE Committee will consist of four members of the Berkeley or UCSF Academic Senates: three CPH AGG core faculty members, and an outside member, who may be a CPH AGG affiliate, but must be a Senate member from the same home campus as the student.
  • At least one faculty member from each campus must be included.
  • The QE Committee Chair must be a core member of the CPH AGG and from the same home campus as the student.

Dissertation

All dissertation projects must be scholarly, independent and original research that implements knowledge, techniques, and methods from the computational and health sciences to contribute new knowledge to the field. Students will commence work on their dissertation by the fourth semester, after advancing to candidacy.

Dissertation Committee

  • The Dissertation Committee will consist of at least three members of the Berkeley or UCSF Academic Senates, with at least one member from each.
  • The student’s Research Advisor (or co-Advisors) will serve as the Chair (or co-Chairs).
  • The Chair and Academic Senate Representative must both be members of the Academic Senate and from the same home campus as the student.

Oral Presentations

  • A dissertation defense will not be required; however, students will be required to present their research orally on a number of occasions, including during the Doctoral seminar, and during program retreats.