Course Description
An exploration of the biological and biochemical mechanisms that drive the development of digestive and liver diseases, including inflammatory bowel diseases, celiac disease, fatty liver disease, diabetes, and pancreatic cancer. This course will also cover the strategies to diagnose these diseases, their prevalence, impacts on nutritional status, current treatments, and future therapies.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will complete additional readings from the professional and academic literature and develop a paper or project based on current research in the field. In addition, students will present the information on their selected topic to undergraduates in the class. Graduate students will also meet with the instructor outside of class throughout the semester regarding this paper and/or project.
Athena Title
Digestive and Liver Diseases
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in NUTR 4720E or NUTR 6720E
Prerequisite
NUTR 3100 or BCMB 3100 or BCMB 3100E or BCMB 3100H or BCMB 4010/6010 or permission of department
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The student will be able to: - Demonstrate an understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the organs associated with the digestive system. - Demonstrate an understanding of the pathogeneses of several digestive and liver diseases. - Identify populations at the greatest risks for select digestive and liver diseases. - Characterize clinical signs of select digestive and liver diseases, and understand the process of forming a diagnosis. - Explain current therapeutic options for select digestive and liver diseases. - Search, read, critically analyze, and summarize primary literature related to the development of new therapeutic options.
Topical Outline
Anatomy and Physiology of the Digestive System and Associated Organs GI Diseases – Inflammatory Bowel Diseases GI Diseases – Celiac Disease GI Diseases – Diseases of the Stomach and Esophagus Liver Diseases – Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Liver Diseases – Liver Cancer Pancreatic Diseases – Pancreatic Cancer Pancreatic Diseases – Pancreatitis Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes