Course Description
The fundamentals of infectious disease biology focusing on microparasite infections (e.g., viruses, bacteria). Taught in four-week modules, the course covers essential concepts in ecology, evolution, immunology, biochemistry, cell biology, and metabolism as they relate to specific infectious diseases. Each module is self-contained, and students can register to receive credit for one or more modules.
Athena Title
Fundamentals Disease Biol II
Non-Traditional Format
This course is structured in four independent modules that are built around different focal "infectious diseases." Students can take any or all of the modules, registering for one credit hour per module.
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course provides students interested in infectious diseases with a "cross-scale" foundation via the in-depth analysis of specific case studies focusing on microparasites (e.g., viruses, bacteria). Lectures will focus on essential organizing principles in infectious diseases stemming from research at the molecular, cellular levels through the organismal, population, community, and biosphere levels. Computer labs focus on posing and solving numerical problems related to the dynamics of infectious diseases and also reinforce the content introduced in lectures. Students are expected to develop a skill and appreciation for thinking about microparasite infections from multiple perspectives and will be challenged to identify and articulate the connections between biological scales. Specifically, they will: • Learn to consider infectious disease problems from the perspective of different levels of organization. • Develop the expertise to frame research questions that bridge multiple levels of organization and that have cross-scalar implications. • Acquire an in-depth, cross-scalar understanding of at least one distinct infectious disease system and acquire the skills to translate this knowledge to other disease systems.
Topical Outline
Case studies will be taught in four-week modules and students can register for one or more modules. The fourth module of the course is a student-centered exercise where students will work on a problem independently focusing on a microparasite of their choice that was not covered in any of the course modules. Students who have taken at least one course module are eligible to register for the final module. The course is organized as follows: Week 1-4 (Module 1): Case study #1 - see detail below Week 5-8 (Module 2): Case study #2 - see detail below Week 9-12 (Module 3): Case study #3 - see detail below Week 13-15 (Module 4): Projects - Students work independently on a disease system of their choice. They are tasked with investigating and writing about a cross-scalar problem. Goal of project is to have students apply the skills they have acquired in at least one case study module (above) by identifying a problem that bridges scales and investigating the problem from different perspectives. Example case study topical outline. Tuberculosis (bacterial infection). Week One Scale: Cellular/Molecular Scientific Area: Microbiology Description: Mycobacteria biology Scale: Cellular/Molecular Scientific Area: Immunology Description: Host immune response to Mtb; granuloma formation Scale: Organ Scientific Area: Pathophysiology Description: Effect of granuloma formation in lungs and other organs Week Two Scale: Organism Scientific Area: Medicine Description: Disease manifestations of tuberculosis; one health – animal human interface and tuberculosis Scale: Organism Scientific Area: Physiology/Behavior Description: Heterogeneities in exposure, susceptibility and shedding driven by individual behavior and physiology Week Three Scale: Population Scientific Area: Ecology, Epidemiology, and Evolution Description: Transmission dynamics, microevolution, emergence and evolution of multi-drug resistant TB Week Four Scale: Community Scientific Area: Ecology and Evolution Description: Ecology of Mtb in humans and other hosts; cross- species transmission; interactions between Mtb and other organisms (e.g., HIV, helminths) Scale: Biosphere Scientific Area: Geography, Ecology, and Evolution Description: Global patterns; spatial spread of drug resistant tuberculosis