BIOMS 4340

Cellular and Molecular Microbial Pathogenesis: The Host Pathogen Interplay

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2020-2021.

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. This integrated and comparative view of the cellular and molecular interaction between infectious agents and the host's immune response will be a capstone of the student's exposure to infection biology.

When Offered Spring (offered alternate years).

Prerequisites/Corequisites Recommended prerequisite: BIOMS 4040/BIOMI 4040 or BIOMS 4090/BIOMI 4090 or BIOMS 4310/BIOMI 4310 or BIOMS 4150 or permission of instructor.

Distribution Category (PBS-AS, BIO-AS)

• Identify and distinguish the approaches viruses, bacteria and parasites use to counteract or interact with components of the host immune response to allow their replication and spread.
• Integrate at a cellular and molecular level the host's response to prevent infections with the strategies infectious agents employ to overcome host.

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