November 11, 2004. Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health epidemiology faculty (Professors Lydia Zablotska, Daniel Herman, and Ian Lapp) and Ray Cha of CCNMTL staff have been invited to present the Epiville project at the annual American Education Research Association (AERA) meeting in Montreal in April. Epiville, an online simulation, is currently being utilized by over 250 students in a core course for Columbia's Masters of Public Health.

In this simulation, students play the role of an intern at the Department of Health, gathering facts and deciding actions to curb an outbreak which has struck "Epiville." The case study uses digital video newscasts, interviews, and municipal websites to provide information about commerce and diseases in an attempt to mirror real-life situations. Interactive web-based exercises allow students to test hypotheses about these cases.

Disease Outbreak Simulation: Epiville?