Methodologically, the cohort study best approximates the randomized controlled trial (RCT), it samples on exposure and follows study participants through time for the development of the outcome of interest. As such, the cohort study is considered one of the leading observational epidemiological study designs. The following exercise will show you the key features of the cohort design.

Good luck and have fun!

Faculty Highlight: Geoffrey R. Howe, PhD (1942-2006)

Dr. Geoffrey Howe was Professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University. He was Director of the Epidemiology Unit of the National Cancer Institute of Canada.

Dr. Howe's research activities have focused primarily in the areas of the relationship between radiation and cancer and other diseases, as well as nutritional epidemiology, particularly as it relates to cancer risk. He was also the Principal Investigator for an NCI -funded contract that provides scientific support for three studies of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident in 1986.

Read more about Dr. Howe's work

1. Howe GR, Zablotska LB, Fix JJ, Egel J, Buchanan J. Analysis of the Mortality Experience amongst U.S. Nuclear Power Industry Workers after Chronic Low-Dose Exposure to Ionizing Radiation. Radiation Research 162, 517-526. 2004.
2. Silvera S, Rohan TE, Jian M, Terry PD, Howe GR, Miller AB. Glycemic index, glycemic load, and pancreatic cancer risk. Cancer Causes and Control. 16:431-436. 2005.