Body
Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunobiology
Credit Hour(s): 3 Units
Instructor(s): Deora, Neil, Wozniak; Pradhan
Offered: Autumn; Spring
Prerequisite(s): Micro 4000 or Micro 4100
Role in Microbiology Major: Core (Required)
Lecture Topics:
- Innate and adaptive immunity
- Immune cell functions
- Complement system and other antimicrobial molecules
- Recognition of microbes by the immune system
- Cycle of microbial diseases
- Acquisition and regulation of bacterial virulence genes
- Molecular strategies developed by bacterial pathogens to infect their host
- Airborne and foodborne bacterial diseases
- Mechanisms used by diverse pathogens to escape the immune defense and cause diseases: pathogenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella species, Listeria monocytogenes, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Bacillus anthracis, Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Vibrio cholerae, and Clostridium botulinum
- Mechanisms and limitation of antimicrobial drugs
Learning Outcomes:
After completion of the course, successful students will understand...
- Key mechanisms involved in the immune defense
- How the immune system distinguishes between self and foreign organisms
- Differences and connections between the innate and adaptive immune responses
- The beneficial roles of microbes that compose the human microbiota
- How to study microbial disease mechanisms
- What particular attributes microbes must display in order to breach the host physical barriers and immune defense mechanisms
- How human behavior influences the emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases
- Unequal distribution of infections across the world
- Why bacterial pathogens rapidly overcome the activity of antimicrobial drugs
- The spread of nosocomial and community acquired infections
- Challenges we are currently facing for the prevention and treatment of infections
