History and Current Status
　　The original epidemiology teaching team was established in 1980, affiliated with the Department of Health Statistics. In 1984, the Department of Epidemiology was officially established. In 2002, the original Department of Health Statistics and the Department of Epidemiology were merged and a new department, the Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology was established. In April 2019, the Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology was divided into the Department of Epidemiology and the Department of Medical Statistics. The directors and deputy directors of the Department of Epidemiology from 1980 to now were as follows: Qu Jishan and Hua Zhaomeng, Wang Zhijin and Hua Zhaomeng, Wang Zhijin and Chen Zhongliang. Moreover, professors Chen Weiqing, Chen Yuming, Lu Ciyong and Zhang Caixia have served as deputy directors of the Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, in charge of the epidemiology center. The current director and deputy director of the Department of Epidemiology is Zhang Caixia and Xu Lin, respectively.

Academic Staff
　　There are thirteen academic and teaching staff in the department, including seven professors and six associate professors, all of whom have obtained doctoral degrees. Moreover, there are two research fellows and three postdoctoral fellows in the department, forming a well-structured teaching and research team. 

Teaching and Training
　　The department undertakes teaching to undergraduate courses and post-graduate courses in the Sun Yat-sen University, for undergraduate students majoring in five- and eight-year Clinical Medicine, Preventive Medicine, Health Inspection and Quarantine and MBBS, and postgraduate students taking either the research (medical doctoral students) or taught courses (Master of Public Health). Courses taught include Epidemiology, Principles and Methods of Epidemiology, Applications of Epidemiology, Principles of Epidemiology, and Clinical Epidemiology. Staff of the department has participated in writing epidemiology-related textbooks, such as Epidemiology, Clinical Epidemiology, Modern Epidemiology and Epidemiological Research Methods and Applications, which have been widely used in teaching of epidemiology. Furthermore, staff in the department also supervise undergraduate students in their major practicum, undergraduate laboratory open fund projects, and undergraduate innovation and entrepreneurship training programs.

　　After years of teaching reform, the department has developed a distinctive teaching team and innovative teaching mode, such as implementing critical appraisal method in reading articles to improve practical experience and enhance understanding of epidemiological principles and methods; implementing classroom case-based discussions and strengthening teacher-student interaction to inspire students' interest in learning epidemiology; adding research and design courses to increase students' ability to link theory with practice and apply what they have learned in reality. In addition, to make full use of scientific research resources and improve students' scientific research ability, the department applies scientific research findings to teaching. By 2018, more than 15 papers have published by undergraduate students supervised by our department staff.

　　Each year the department enrolls 4-5 doctoral students and 25 master students. Most of the postgraduate students are mainly engaged in teaching and research in universities, research or professional management in university affiliated hospitals, scientific research in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, first-line practice in preventive medicine and public health, and health administrative departments after graduation.

Scientific Research
　　The department has achieved promising results in research, including grants for several national research projects. During 2014-2018, a total of 13 million RMB from horizontal funding schemes and a total of 28.5 million RMB for vertical funding schemes were received. Up to 2018, a total of 262 papers have been published in SCI journals (only the first or correspondent authorships were counted). Under the efforts of all teachers and students, the department has gradually developed a variety of distinctive research fields with important research findings, as follows:
(1) Establishing a prospective cohort study based on the general population and specific populations. Nowadays, the Guangzhou Residents Health Research Cohort, Breast Cancer Survival Cohort, Colorectal Cancer Survival Cohort, and the biological biobanks have been established. In addition, in collaboration with the Maternal and Child Health Hospital in the Nanshan District, Shenzhen, a maternal and infant birth cohort is also being established.
(2) Conducting research on adolescent mental health and behavioral problems and has obtained important research results. Up to 2018, six rounds of large scale cross-sectional surveys on adolescent mental health and behavioral problems have been conducted in Guangdong Province and some provinces and cities across the country. A randomized controlled trial based on mHealth technology has been designed for improving behavioral health such as eye hygiene in adolescent. Moreover, another collaborative longitudinal study with the University of Toronto in Canada on psychological problems in adolescent such as depressive symptoms is ongoing, named the “Cohort of High-risk Groups and Patients with Depression”. Other long-term collaborations involve Université Libre de Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium, the University of Ghent and the Departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology in the University of Toronto, Canada.
(3) Establishing population-based cohorts for research on air pollution and its health effects in different regions of China. The effects of common atmospheric pollutants such as PM2.5, O3 on different health outcomes of respiratory, cardiovascular and reproductive systems and the related disease burden are being explored, and the evidence provides a scientific basis for the development of ambient air quality standards.
(4) Establishing research platforms based on the One Health concept, conducting research on zoonosis, food safety and antibiotic resistance to promote the harmony of human health, animal health and environmental health. It plays a key role in the research of transmission mechanisms such as SARS, avian influenza, rabies, dengue fever, foodborne diseases and the prevention and control of infectious diseases. Through extensive collaborations with multiple disease prevention and control institutions, veterinary medicine, and clinical medicine in the United States, Australia, Canada and China, an interdisciplinary, cross-regional, and inter-departmental international cooperation platform based on One Health strategy has been established and is expanding. An active monitoring system of the human-animal-environmental interface has been established, aiming at providing scientific basis for the prediction, early warning and effective prevention and control of infectious diseases. Some research results have been published in internationally peer-reviewed journals.
(5) Conducting nutrition epidemiology research in China. Since 2008, 4,500 community residents have been recruited in the Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Research with regularly triennial follow-up. A variety of health indicators such as bone density, body composition, biomarkers of blood vessels, liver and kidney function and metabolic health have been collected and systematically measured. In collaboration with Xi’hu University, the multi-omics data such as functional genomics and gut microbiota are being collected, which provides a research platform for systematically exploration of the association between nutrients and health and the mechanisms. In addition, in collaboration with Nanshan Chronic Diseases Prevention & Cure Hospital in Shenzhen, a Shenzhen Elderly Health Cohort is also being established.
(6) Taking advantage of the advanced molecular biology detection technology, the department is now carrying out multi-omics research. The incorporation of these molecular biomarkers in research enables more in-depth analysis of various exposure-outcome associations, and provides more valuable data sources for elucidating the pathogenic mechanisms of major diseases.