The Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics will serve as a core scientific resource for the Faculty: to apply, develop, teach and foster investigational approaches to understanding the distribution and determinants of health and disease in population, including vulnerable groups, and to generate knowledge that can be used to improve public health. The epidemiology program will focus on major public health problems and effective strategies to prevent or control them. The biostatistics program will focus on development and application of theory and methods in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data used in public health applications and related biosocial and biomedical sciences. As a core advocate for evidence‐based public health practice, the department will ensure that this rigour is upheld throughout the Faculty.