BIOMS 6340 - Cellular and Molecular Microbial Pathogenesis: The Host Pathogen Interplay

Spring. 3 credits. Student option grading.

Recommended prerequisite: BIOMS 4040/BIOMI 4040 or BIOMS 4090/BIOMI 4090 or BIOMS 4310/BIOMI 4310 or BIOMS 4150 or permission of instructor. Co-meets with BIOMS 4340.

B. VanderVen.

Understanding the disease state induced by infection with a microbial pathogen requires knowledge of both the infectious agent and the host. This course will integrate the immune response of the host to challenges from medically important pathogens, including viruses, parasites and bacteria, to provide a unified view of microbial pathogenesis. The lectures will integrate concepts from the disciplines of immunology, bacteriology, virology, and parasitology, to cover aspects of host cell biology and the innate and acquired immune responses of the host to infection. A range of medically relevant human and animal pathogens will be detailed, focusing on the host’s response to commensalism versus disease, the mechanisms of host invasion, nutrient acquisition, and modulation of the host’s immune response. The course will also discuss current disease interventions and the challenges facing antimicrobial therapy and vaccine development.

Outcome 1: Explain the relationship between infectious agents, viruses, bacteria and parasites, and the host immune response at the cellular and molecular level.

Outcome 2: Describe how viruses, bacteria and parasites act uniquely, or use shared approaches to counteract or interact with components of the host immune response.

Outcome 3: Explain how viruses, bacteria and parasites replicate and spread, and what the host immune response does to prevent this.

Outcome 4: Take a comparative view of the cellular and molecular interaction between infectious agents and the host.

Outcome 5: Explain the success and failures in controlling infectious agents with therapy and vaccines.

Outcome 6: Interpret and explain experimental data from primary research studying viruses, bacteria and parasites.