Unusual biology: the science of emerging pathogens

Lectures: 1 session / week, 2 hours / session

Recommended prerequisites are:

7.03 Genetics

7.05 General Biochemistry

7.06 Cell Biology

7.28 Molecular Biology

Infectious diseases represent a serious global public health problem. They have the potential to kill millions of people, whether they emerge naturally as outbreaks or pandemics, or deliberately through bioterrorism. Each day, infectious disease scientists serve on the front lines protecting us from such threats. Emerging pathogens are those that appear in a human population for the first time or are expanding into areas and populations where they have not previously been reported. These organisms have evolved specialized strategies for proliferation and survival in their hosts, and these strategies often involve unique biological processes.

Such processes range from atypical cell biology intrinsic to the pathogen to alterations in the behavior of the host caused by the pathogen. In this course students will learn how to design and critique experiments through the discussion of primary research articles that explore the molecular basis of disease caused by emerging pathogens. Some examples of diseases caused by emerging pathogens are the Bubonic Plague, Toxoplasmosis, African Sleeping Sickness, and Chagas Disease. We will include studies that use a diversity of scientific methods and will discuss a variety of investigative approaches, including genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, and genomics/proteomics.

At the end of this course, students should be able to:

This seminar will meet weekly for 2 hours. For each class, students will be required to have carefully and thoroughly read two research papers assigned by the instructors. Students are required to email the instructors with one question about each assigned paper prior to the class. These questions may concern the background, the results, the conclusions, or the methods used. A thorough reading of both papers by students before the class is essential. During class there will be a group discussion of the assigned papers and students are expected to participate fully in the discussion concerning each article.

The class is graded on a pass/fail basis for 6 units, and grades will be based on participation in discussion every week, and satisfactory completion of the written and oral assignments.

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