Course Description
A multi-disciplinary approach to examining the impact of infectious diseases on human populations. Current persistent, epidemic, and emerging diseases and how they are identified, studied, and combatted will be discussed. Topics will also include the sociological, psychological, historical, legal, environmental, and economic implications of disease.
Athena Title
People, Parasites, and Plagues
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in IDIS 3100H, CBIO 3100H
Prerequisite
[(BIOL 1103 or BIOL 1103E) and BIOL 1103L] or [(BIOL 1107 or BIOL 1107E) and BIOL 1107L]
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course takes a multidisciplinary approach to examining the impact of infectious diseases on our world. Epidemic (both past and present), emerging and zoonotic diseases, and how they are identified, studied and combated, are discussed. Topics also include the sociological, psychological, historical, ecological and economic implications of infectious diseases. The course is equally suitable for science and non-science majors. Students are expected to master the concepts of disease, how scientific investigation is done, and the various mechanisms by which infectious diseases impact individuals and the societies in which they live.The course is designed to be challenging and stimulating for all students regardless of academic background or career goals. Non-science majors find themselves challenged to see the world of parasites (a term used loosely in this course in reference to any organism that takes damaging advantage of another) through the eyes of a scientist. Science majors are compelled to appreciate the implications of parasitism beyond the biology of parasitizing organisms and host/parasite interactions. By the end of the course, students can expect to have a good grasp of the global implications (literally and figuratively) of parasitic diseases and be capable of sharing this fascinating and often scary world with others both within and outside the academic community. The course is largely organized in a topical fashion, generally with single lectures covering one disease or organism or health/science issue. The lectures are divided into four major sections that move forward in time. Because some infections have been around for a long, long time, some of those discussed early on might not be very familiar to you. Experts are brought in to cover several of these topics, so students benefit from the expertise and excitement that these individuals have for their respective fields of work and study.
Topical Outline
1. Introduction: why are we here? 2. Introduction to malaria 3. Immunology: the basics 4. Microbiology and molecular biology: the basics 5. Smallpox - to be or not to be 6. Plague – The black death 7. Influenza - pandemic of 1918 and future threats 8. Connections – from Columbus to the Congo 9. Cholera and the birth of epidemiology 10. History and evolution of medicine 11. Polio – the stealthy killer 12. Scientific research and ethics – from Hitler to Tuskegee 13. Outbreak investigation 14. Vaccines – history, challenges, and misconceptions 15. Iatrogenic infections: the coming plague? 16. Zoonotic viruses in bats 17. Worm woes – living in this wormy world 18. Prions, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, kuru and mad cow disease 19. HIV - history, biology, and immunology 20. Opportunistic infections in the course of AIDS 21. Drugs and drug development – those with no voice are not heard 22. Current approaches to handling people, parasites, and plagues 23. Bioterrorism 24. Mosquito-borne viruses in the U.S. 25. Tuberculosis 26. Drugs and mechanisms of parasite resistance 27. The human microbiome: what’s in your gut?
Syllabus