(Medical Molecular Parasitology)
Syllabus BIOS40420 Fall 2013
Description:
Roughly 90% of the world’s health care resources are spent on diseases that affect only 10% of the world’s population. Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are a group of diseases that cause substantial illness for more than one billion people globally. This course will explore the molecular biology and mechanisms of virulence of eukaryotic protozoan parasites that are major causes of human disease and misery in most countries of the tropics. The entry of molecular biology with its elucidation of the genetics, genomics and proteomics of these organisms has provided increasingly sophisticated explanations of their capacities to persist under intense ecological and physiological pressures. The students: (i) will gain a detailed understanding of the molecular biology of these organisms; (ii) will increase their ability to read scientific papers and (iii) will be able to analyze and discuss some of the molecular laboratory techniques presented during the course.
Pre-reqs:
BIOS 20241 or BIOS 30341
Instructor:
Dr. Miguel A Morales
278 Galvin Life Science Center
Office : 574-631-7197
Email: [email protected]
Office hours: Tuesday 11am-12 pm or by appointment
Course Materials:
There is no textbook for the course. We will rely extensively on scientific articles and reviews. I will make available the materials as PDF or ppt via Sakai, or as hard-copy handouts. Slides from the lectures will be posted on Sakai before class.
Class meetings:
TR, 9.30-10.45 am DeBartolo Hall 141
Grading:
There will be two midterm exams, given during scheduled class periods. One final examination will be given during the final exam period. The first half of the final will cover material after the second exam, while the other half will be a cumulative examination of the whole course. No unauthorized excuses for examination will be accepted. Travel plans are not an acceptable reason for changing the date of an exam or missing an exam.
During the semester, you will be asked to write a half page (~ 400 words) summary of the journal articles assigned for class. Summaries will be due at the start of the class on the day we discuss that particular paper. Only hard-copies will be accepted. Material for every summary will be announced well in advance, and posted via Sakai.
Grades will be calculated as follows:
MID1: 20%
MID2: 20%
FINAL: 20%
SUMMARIES: 20%
PRESENTATIONS: 20%
“All students must familiarize themselves with the Honor Code on the University’s website and pledge to observe its tenets in all written and oral work, including oral presentations, quizzes and exams, and drafts and final versions of essays”. http://nd.edu/~hnrcode/docs/handbook.htm
Lecture Date Topic
1 08/27 Overview, discussion of course.
2 08/29 Introduction to medical molecular parasitology.
3 09/03 Leishmaniasis.
4 09/05 Parasite genomics: from sequence to the outcome of the disease.
5 09/10 Parasite genomics II. Discussion
6 09/12 RNA processing: trans-splicing, kinetoplast DNA and editing.
7 09/17 RNA processing II. Discussion
8 09/19 Transcription. The importance of spliced leader (SL) sequences and what to do when we lose (transcriptional) control.
9 09/24 Transcription II. Discussion
10 09/26 Antigenic variation in trypanosomatids: the perfect camouflage.
11 10/01 Antigenic variation II. Discussion
12 10/03 Overview. Preparation for Midterm 1
13 10/08 Midterm 1
14 10/10 Genetic and genomic approaches to the study of virulence.
15 10/15 Genetic and genomic approaches to the study of virulence II. Discuss
16 10/17 Intracellular signaling I in trypanosomatids: “sensing” to survive.
17 10/29 Intracellular signaling I. Discussion
10/31 Intracellular signaling II. 18 19 11/05 Intracellular signaling II. Discussion
20 11/07 Energy metabolism in protozoan parasites: carbohydrates as drug targets
21 11/12 Energy metabolism II. Discussion
22 11/14 AA and protein metabolism/Surface and secreted carbohydrates in trypanosomatids: from host cell invasion to deception of the host’s immune system 23 11/19 AA and protein metabolism/Surface and secreted carbohydrates II. Discuss 24 11/21 Overview. Preparation for Midterm 2
25 11/26 Midterm 2
26 12/03 Medical applications: parasite detection and diagnosis
27 12/05 Medical applications: epidemiology, clinical manifestations
28 12/10 Medical applications: treatment, vaccines
29 12/12 Medical applications: drug resistance
30 TBA FINAL EXAM