Course Description
Today we are experiencing global change on a rapid scale. Themes
explored in this course will focus on the effects of climate
change, habitat loss, as well as socio-demographic factors on the
transmission of vector-borne diseases. We will also discuss
intervention strategies to mitigate the spread of vector-borne
diseases.
Athena Title
Vector Disease in Change World
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- Students will critically read and interpret the peer-reviewed literature on vector-borne disease responses to global change in a variety of host-vectored pathogen systems.
- Students will improve oral communication skills by leading and actively participating in class discussions.
- Students will present a concise, comprehensive synthesis of topics bridging organizational scales, from host genetics through species interactions to global distributions of vectors, hosts and pathogens, for a focal vector-borne disease in a capstone symposium.
Topical Outline
- The basic structure of the course will focus on environmental,
genetic, and socio-demographic drivers of vector-borne disease
transmission. Classes will generally start with a series of
basic science discussions of how these factors influence vector-
borne disease transmission followed by discussions focusing on
the implications these drivers have for vector-borne disease in a
human-modified landscape.
- For example,
Environmental Factors:
Basic science discussions on how abiotic factors (e.g.,
temperature, precipitation, humidity, salinity) shape disease
transmission
Applied discussions on how climate change, land use change,
etc., influence abiotic factors to impact disease transmission
Basic science discussions on how biotic effects (e.g., food
availability, inter/intraspecific competition, trophic
interactions, other biological enemies) shape disease
transmission
Applied discussion on how human encroachment, globalization,
biological invasions, and vector control strategies influence
biotic factors to impact disease transmission
Genetic Factors:
Basic science discussion on how within vector mechanisms (e.g.,
variation in vector immune mechanisms, pathogen
evasion/suppression mechanisms in the vector) shape disease
transmission
Applied discussions exploring how genetic variation within
vector mechanisms translates into genotype x genotype effects
and how this influences disease transmission
Basic science discussion on how within host–mechanisms (e.g.,
variation in host immunity, pathogen evasion/suppression
mechanisms in the host) shape disease transmission
Applied discussion on how genetic variation within host
mechanisms across host populations translates into significant
variation in disease transmission
Sociodemographic Factors:
Discussion on how socioeconomic drivers, public health
infrastructure, poverty traps, etc., impact vector-borne disease
control, human risk, and disease transmission
- End-of-Semester Class Symposium:
All students will be responsible for a 15-minute presentation.
In these presentations, students pick a vector-borne disease
system that has not been a case study in class. In the
presentation, students must provide a brief description of the
general ecology and biology of the system, highlighting what
is currently known about the key drivers (e.g., genetic,
environmental, sociodemographic) of transmission. Students
should address which components of transmission do not fit the
standard assumptions of Ro and how this might influence the
pathogen invasion threshold of Ro within their system of
interest. They are charged with discussing how global change
will potentially affect the distribution and incidence of
disease and what they would prioritize in future research.
