260.620.01
Molecular and Cellular Biology for Infectious Diseases
Location
East Baltimore
Term
4th Term
Department
Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Credit(s)
3
Academic Year
2024 - 2025
Instruction Method
In-person
Tu, Th, 10:30 - 11:50am
Auditors Allowed
Yes, with instructor consent
Available to Undergraduate
Yes
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Resources
Prerequisite
None
Take this course if you are interested in understanding the molecular and cellular determinants that allow microbial agents to infect, replicate, and cause disease or how pathogens hijack host processes to survive in humans. This course is also for students who desire a working understanding of the molecular and cellular biology of infectious diseases and how this information is translated to new treatments and control strategies.
Presents the common and unique aspects of the cellular and molecular biology of the major viruses, prokaryotes, and eukaryotes that cause infectious diseases and how these processes influence host-pathogen interactions. Introduces fundamental principles of cellular and molecular biology, cellular metabolism, genome organization, transcription, translation, replication and DNA repair, and compares these processes between different organisms, including eukaryotic host cells within the context of infectious diseases. Discusses state of the art tools used in the study of cellular and molecular processes across different disease-causing taxa and how common and unique features of molecular and cellular biology are translated to treat and prevent diseases.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
- Describe differences in cellular and genomic organization across different taxa that cause infectious diseases
- Explain how genetic information is replicated across different organisms
- Explain mechanisms of transcription and translation and how these processes are regulated in different organisms
- Discuss how different infectious agents modulate and co-opt endogenous functions of host cells for survival
- Describe methods to study molecular and cellular processes in organisms that cause infectious diseases
- Demonstrate how basic principles of cellular and molecular biology can be translated to treat and control infectious diseases
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
- 60% Exam(s)
- 32% In-class Exercises
- 8% Final Presentation