Bugs and Drugs: Biomedical Applications of Beneficial Microorganisms
IDIS(VPHY) 4880/6880
3 hours
Bugs and Drugs: Biomedical Applications of Beneficial Microorganisms
Course Description
While microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses) are often associated with disease, microbes can also promote good health in humans and animals. The purpose of this course is to develop an understanding as to how microorganisms, both naturally occurring and genetically modified, can be used to detect, treat, and prevent diseases.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students: Graduate students will be required to complete a written graded research proposal assignment along with their oral presentations. The exam questions will be different and appropriate to their grade level.
Athena Title
Bugs and Drugs
Prerequisite
MIBO 2500 or MIBO 2500E or MIBO 3500 or MIBO 3500E or MIBO 3500H
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite
BIOL 1108 or BIOL 2108H
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
At the completion of this course, students should be able to describe specific genetic, physiological and structural features of microorganisms that make them advantageous for detecting and treating infectious and non-infectious diseases.
At the completion of this course, students should be able to evaluate the credibility of hypotheses, methods and interpretations from published studies and course assignments through reasoned analysis and consideration of alternative explanations to reach specific conclusions about the effectiveness of live biotherapeutic products in treating disease.
At the completion of this course, students should be able to identify and apply appropriate methods of data analysis (e.g., statistical tests) to interpret the results from published studies and publicly available datasets and to use effective verbal and graphical formats to communicate conclusions from live biotherapeutic research.
At the completion of this course, students should be able to design a live biotherapeutic system (bacteria, yeast or virus) using current experimental approaches and support the conclusions made about its ability to detect, diagnose or treat specific diseases, as well as consider ethical implications of its use as an alternative to more traditional disease treatments.
Topical Outline
Week 1
1. Introduction, course objectives
2. Fundamentals of microbiology, review 1
3. “Bugs as drugs”: history & general principles
Week 2
1. Probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics
2. Live biotherapeutic products (LBP)
3. Paper review 1
Week 3
1. Specific microbial systems: Lactic acid bacteria
2. E. coli Nissle
3. Bacillus & other Gram-positive species
Week 4
1. Yeast & fungi (e.g., Saccharomyces boulardii)
2. Viruses and bacteriophage
3. Paper review 2
Week 5
1. Targeting beneficial microorganisms to specific host systems
2. Humans (e.g., gut, lung, skin)
3. Humans, continued
Week 6
1. Animals (e.g., rumen)
2. Plants (rhizosphere and phyllosphere)
3. Paper review 3
Week 7
1. Insects & parasites
2. Midterm exam
3. Specific disease processes and their treatments
Week 8
1. Cancer
2. Metabolic diseases
3. Paper review 4
