dr. songer is the director of the doctoral program and an assistant professor in the department of epidemiology, graduate school of public health, university of pittsburgh. dr. songer is actively involved in teaching the principles of epidemiology to hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students every year. his research interests have focused on the development of core competencies for training in epidemiology, and the social and economic impacts of chronic disease. his current research project is examining the caregiver burden related to providing care for very young children with diabetes. dr. songer has served on several federal government research review panels and state of pennsylvania advisory panels.