The IDEEEP Concentration

Note

The IDEEEP concentration is in development. The concentration and the courses, certificates, and short courses described on this site are proposed and are being developed with the Department of Biology. It is not yet an approved program and is not currently enrolling or accepting applications. Course numbers, credit hours, and schedules are illustrative and subject to change. If you would like to hear when offerings open, tell us you are interested.

The Infectious Disease Ecology, Evolution, and Epidemiology Program (IDEEEP) is an interdisciplinary concentration for students who want to understand infectious diseases as a biological, ecological, and quantitative phenomenon. Pathogens do not act in isolation — they move through populations, respond to selection, and are shaped by the environments and hosts they depend on. Infectious diseases transcend model systems from bacteriophages infecting bacteria to helminths infecting sheep to fungal infections in plants to viral zoonoses in humans, infectious diseases are key forces across biology. Understanding them requires drawing on ecology, evolution, mathematics, statistics, and field epidemiology together. That quantitative and ecological work stays at the core of the concentration, complemented by exposure to the social sciences, economics, and medical anthropology, so students graduate with a quantitatively focused but holistically well-rounded view of infectious disease.

Biology is a comprehensive and multifaceted field of study: principles build on one another, and insights from one discipline often intersect with others in unexpected ways. The courses and experiences below are designed so those connections become the point rather than the exception.

Two students work through disease-transmission models at a whiteboard covered in equations and epidemic curves. — Students work through transmission models and epidemic curves — the quantitative core of the concentration.

Program goals#

Students who complete the concentration will be able to:

Explain how ecological and evolutionary processes drive the emergence, transmission, and persistence of infectious diseases
Read, build, and analyze mathematical and statistical models of disease dynamics
Design and carry out field and laboratory investigations of infectious disease
Use modern, reproducible computational tools to manage data and communicate results
Apply a One Health perspective that connects human, animal, and environmental health
Link pathogen genomes to epidemiologic data to detect and reconstruct transmission
Communicate risk and uncertainty, and translate evidence into recommendations for decision-makers
Draw on exposure to the social sciences, economics, and medical anthropology to place quantitative findings in their human, economic, and policy context
Collaborate ethically across disciplines and sectors, applying systems thinking and responsible data governance

Curriculum#

The concentration combines foundational biology coursework with a set of focused courses in disease ecology, quantitative methods, and field epidemiology. The courses below form the core of the concentration; specific requirements, prerequisites, and electives are coordinated with the Department of Biology and are subject to change.

Core courses#

These courses provide instruction in topics central to infectious disease ecology, evolution, and epidemiology.

Course	Title	Focus	Status
BIO 301/302	Field Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine	Hands-on field investigation in a tropical setting	Offered — Summer 2027
BIO 301	Mathematical Biology	Modeling biological and disease systems	In development
BIO 340	Infectious Disease Ecology	Ecology and evolution of host–pathogen systems	In development
BIO 390	Research Tools and Methods	Reproducible, computational research skills	In development
TBD	Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention	Combating resistance and preventing transmission	In development

Tip

Field Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine (BIO 301/302) is offered now — the next section runs in Summer 2027 with fieldwork in Tumbes and Lima, Peru. It runs as an existing Wake Forest course while the rest of the concentration is being developed, so you can take it without waiting for the full concentration to launch. See the course page or contact Course Director John W. Sanders to learn more.

Proposed additional courses#

These proposed courses extend the concentration into applied epidemiology and analytics, pathogen genomics, economic evaluation, and graduate research, with some exposure to the human and policy dimensions of epidemics. Course numbers are illustrative.

Course	Title	Level
BIO 3xx	Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology	Undergraduate
BIO 3xx	Outbreak Analytics and Modeling	Undergraduate
BIO 3xx	One Health and Planetary Health	Undergraduate
BIO 3xx	Data Science for Infectious Disease	Undergraduate
BIO 6xx	Statistical Modeling of Infectious Disease Dynamics	Masters/PhD
BIO 6xx	Spatial Epidemiology and Disease Mapping	Masters/PhD
BIO 6xx	Evolutionary Epidemiology and the Evolution of Virulence	Masters/PhD
BIO 6xx	People, Plagues, and Policy: The Human Dimensions of Infectious Disease	Masters/PhD
BIO 6xx	Applied Genomic and Phylodynamic Epidemiology	Masters/PhD
BIO 6xx	Health Economics and Economic Evaluation of ID Interventions	Masters/PhD
BIO 6xx	IDEEE Research Seminar and Journal Club	Masters/PhD

Recommended Biology electives#

Several existing Wake Forest Biology courses support the concentration and can be taken as electives.

Course	Title
BIO 312	Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease
BIO 314	Evolution
BIO 315	Population Genetics
BIO 331 / 332	Microbial Physiology / Microbiology
BIO 334	Parasitology
BIO 362	Immunology
BIO 367	Molecular Virology
BIO 380	Biostatistics
BIO 383 / 385 / 387	Genomics / Bioinformatics / Computational Systems Biology

Note: Course numbers, credit hours, and offerings are illustrative and should be confirmed against the official course catalog and the Department of Biology each academic year.

Cross-cutting threads#

Some capabilities are not standalone courses but run through the concentration, taught where they are used rather than in isolation. They are what let a student move from building a result to acting on it responsibly.

Research and data ethics and governance — IRB and consent, FAIR data, privacy and re-identification risk, and equitable data sharing — woven into Research Tools and Methods, Data Science for Infectious Disease, Field Epidemiology, and Applied Genomic and Phylodynamic Epidemiology. See research and data ethics, governance, and responsible sharing.
Systems thinking, collaboration, and leadership — the One Health meta-competencies — practiced in the IDEEE Research Seminar, Outbreak Analytics and Modeling, and One Health and Planetary Health. See systems thinking and systems mapping.
Risk communication and translating evidence for policy — carried by People, Plagues, and Policy and the Risk Communication short course, and reinforced wherever results meet decision-makers. See risk communication and community engagement.

Graduate certificates#

For post-baccalaureate trainees and practicing clinicians, the concentration proposes graduate certificates that can stand alone or append to the Wake Forest Infectious Diseases fellowship specialty certificates (antimicrobial stewardship, global health, patient safety, and translational sciences).

Short courses#

Short courses give public-health practitioners and community members focused training without enrolling in a degree program. They are hybrid and carry a certificate of attendance.

Getting involved#

Students interested in the concentration are encouraged to:

Meet with a concentration advisor to plan a course sequence early
Explore research opportunities and connect with a faculty mentor
Build foundational computing and quantitative skills that support independent research
Consider the field epidemiology experience for immersive, applied training

To learn more or express interest, fill out the prospective-student interest form or contact the program.