CAMPS AND COMPETITIONS

Disease Detectives - Science Olympiad (current) State and national competitions for middle and high school students.

Science Olympiad and CDC have partnered since 1999 on the Disease Detectives event. This event is typically done as a sit-down test. Teams will be presented with articles, reports, data, charts/graphs, pictures or diagrams and/or written descriptions of public health problems. Teams will then be asked to answer questions, define or compare terms, and otherwise interpret the information they are given. Teams may also be asked to draw conclusions and propose preventive measures. There is a three-topic rotation for Disease Detectives: Environmental Quality, Population Growth, and Food Borne Illness – each on a two-year rotation. The emphasis in 2015 and 2016 is Population Growth.

Website: http://www.cdc.gov/EXCITE/olympiad.htm

Also see the National Science Olympiad website http://www.soinc.org for a section on background information and the 2014 instructions for the Disease Detectives event. http://www.soinc.org/disease_detectives_c

* * *

CDC Disease Detective Camp (current) is a week-long day camp for rising high school juniors and seniors that exposes students to epidemiology, the field of public health and the diverse career opportunities within the field of public health. Two separate, but identical iterations of the camp are held each summer. http://www.cdc.gov/museum/camp/detective/index.htm Location: CDC, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA

CDC Junior Disease Detective Camp (current) is a three-day camp for rising 7th and 8th graders. Attendees will learn basic epidemiologic terms and sample a number of public health fields. http://www.cdc.gov/museum/camp/junior/index.htm Location: CDC, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA

* * *

Think like an Epidemiologist Challenge (Epi Challenge) (2008-2012). Trial event in the New Jersey Science Olympiad.

The Epi Challenge has been conducted during the New Jersey Science Olympiad as a trial event. Student teams from competing high schools are instructed to do the following: The team develops a testable, health-related question which can be examined using a cross-sectional epidemiological study design that they will conduct within their school district. The tasks that students must complete by the end of this process are: 1) the development of a sound research proposal that can be implemented within their school district; 2) the implementation of the proposed project and 3) the analysis, interpretation and presentation of the study findings. Namely, students work cooperatively to develop a health-related hypothesis of interest, to use an appropriate study design, given a due date, to construct a reasonable timeline for their study activities, and to collect, analyze, and interpret their study findings. Lastly, students will present reports or posters to an audience. To the extent possible, there should be a competitive aspect to this; as such, it will simulate the real world of science research. For example, there could be independent judging of final reports or posters within a class -- such as by inviting an epidemiologist or other public health person to judge, or there could be competitions between schools with a panel of expert scientists. In 2011, an exciting outcome of the competition was an invitation to both an oral session and a poster session at the annual APHA meeting in Washington, DC. Students and coaches from two winning NJ high schools attended.

* * *

YOUNG EPIDEMIOLOGY SCHOLARS (YES) COMPETITION (2003-2011) http://www.yes-competition.org/yes/

The April 2011 Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition in Washington, D.C., was the eighth and final YES Competition. YES was launched in 2003 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the College Board to encourage high school students nationwide to apply epidemiological methods to the investigation of public health issues and inspire the brightest young minds to enter the field of public health. Nearly 5,000 students from all 50 states have participated in the YES Competition, which has awarded $3.7 million in college scholarships to 976 students, including this year’s participants. YES has been successful in inspiring student interest in and understanding of public health and epidemiology: 75 percent of YES Regional Finalists who have declared an undergraduate major are pursuing a health and/or science related major.

* * *