Evaluations will be based on class attendance and participation (including bringing in extra relevant material), making mini-presentations throughout the quarter, a quarter-end major small-group presentation (3 people, 45 minutes) and your self evaluation. You will be expected to maintain a Portfolio of your work and turn it in at Week 5 and again at the end of the quarter, with your draft self evaluation.
I have intentionally left this initial syllabus rather sketchy, and will give you a more detailed one once I have a chance to better see your interests and needs.
|
Week/Date |
Class | Readings |
| 1 /September 24 | First class: Introductions and goals; Setting the stage: Viruses in the natural world; Overview: viruses in the ecosystem (including in oceans, maintenance of microbial and insect populations); discussion of virus families; basic infection processes. |
Readings from Ackermann |
| 2 /October 1 | A. Properties of viruses; Lytic phages B. Introduction to the immune system tissues and cells: T and B cells |
A. Brock: 236-259; "Bacteriophages"; "T-phages" B. Brock: 801-826; Macrophages, dendritic cells, epitope presentation and superantigens |
| 3 /October 8 | Guest Speaker: Burt Guttman "Prophage and Lambda" A. Lysogeny B. HIV and AIDs C. Continue immunology discussion |
A. Brock 259-267; handout B. Brock 946-955; 875-881 |
| 4 /October 15 | DUE: 1. Short statement of research plan and team. 2. 1-2 pages about some aspects of your reading, other than the project. B. Guest speakers: Robin Moore, Naturopathic physician; Cheri Lucas-Jennings C. Communication in and with the immune system: cytokines; activation; apoptosis; tolerance |
C. Brock 826-852 |
| Monday, October 22, 3:15 PM -- guest speaker -- Julian Davies -- Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance, LH 5 The use of antibiotics has transformed the treatment of infectious diseasesduring the last half-century and until recetly it was a rare infection that was refractory. Nowadays, resistant bacterial strains are more common and antibiotics often fail, particularly among the young, elderly and hosptalised patients. There are a number of reasons for this change (some will be discussed), but lack of knowledge of bacteria and their ability to survive catastrophes is perhaps the most important. We are now trying to understand how microbes evolve to survive antibiotics and I will summarise the current state of our comprehension. One thing is certain, antibiotic resistance is a very complex process! Will this knowledge help to expand the useful lifetime of existing antibiotics and find new and better ones? This remains to be seen. Finally I would like to present some ideas on the roles of antibiotics in nature; are they really antibiotics? |
| 5 /October 22 | Portfolio -- first half work --due during week 5
A. Seminar: Book about AIDS, of your choice Bring seminar presentation paper. Should contain three points or questions you feel are important. Write a paragraph about each point. Phrase carefully (precicely). Discuss why you feel each point is important and what questions they raise for you. B.Continue cytokines discussion: review readings, discussion of questions from small groups and new ones. |
A. AIDS book of your choice. B. Brock 826-852 |
| 6 /October 29 | A. Large DNA viruses: Herpes, the "eukaryotic T4" B. Small circular ds DNA viruses: Papovaviridae - papilloma viruses, warts and cancer |
A. Brock 276-279; 945-947, Herpes handout B. Brock 276-7; 886, Papilloma handout |
| 7 /November 5 | A. Hepatitis: A (Picornaviridae family, like polio, + strand RNA); B (Hepadnaviridae family,
circular ds DNA); C (Flaviviridae family; linear + srand ssRNA); D (circular ssRNA; needs hepatitis B for envelope), E B. Immunization C.Emerging infectious diseases and world health |
B. Brock: 803-4, 847-9, 908-11 |
| 8 /November 12 | Psychoneuroimmunology | TBA |
| November 19 | Thanksgiving Break | none |
| 9 /November 26 | Rather than having formal class the day after thanksgiving break, as we decided in class we will have an extra week to prepare and practice your presentations and have our 10th class, including some of them, the Monday of evaluation week. | none |
| 10 /December 2 | Student presentations I | A. Influenza: Brock: 273-5, 935-7 |
| 10 /December 9 | Student presentations II; final summary | none |
RESOURCES:
I have not found an appropriate single text for this program, so we will use a combination of
suggested readings in:
Brock: Biology of Microorganisms (a very good, broad microbiology text which some of you already have
and M2O will be using - or use any good recent micro book you have)
short readings handed out, readings and books on reserve, and your own explorations of the literature.
Good other resource books include:
G. L. Smith, W. L. Irving et al: New Challenges to Health: The Threat of Virus Infection (2001)
SJ Flint et al- Principles of Virology: molecular biology, pathogenesis and control (2000)
I have the older edition of Webster - Encyclopedia of Virology and the library is ordering the most
recent division.
Immunology studies will be woven throughout the quarter. While we will only be studying certain aspects
of immunology - primarily those most relevant to viral infection, + psychoneuroimmunology - a number of
you may want to get an immunology book, both for use here and for future reference. They are
available at Amazon.com for around $60. (There will be some immunology books on the reserve shelf as
well.) Possible choices include:
Roitt and Rabson - Really essential Medical Immunology - 2000
Kuby's Immunology - 4th edition - Goldsby et al. - 2000 WH Freeman
Janeway - ImmunoBiology 5th edition -- Garland
PRESENTATIONS: Students will be required to give substantial presentations at the end of the quarter, preferably in groups of about 3, and will also be very much encouraged to give short individual presentations throughout the quarter as part of the general class sessions.
Questions to address in general in presentations: virus family, basic properties and infection cycle. modes of transmission, reservoirs, breadth of infectivity, ecological factors and effects; vaccine availability and effectiveness, nature and length of immunity induced by natural infection and from various available vaccine types;
Some suggested topics for student presentations: