MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 4P03 / BIOLOGY 6P03 - Medical Microbiology

Transcription

1 MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 4P03 / BIOLOGY 6P03 - Medical Microbiology Term I Instructor: Guest Lecturers: Dr. Jianping Xu (Microbiologist) Dr. Padman Jayaratne (Microbiologist) Dr. Marek Smieja (Medical Microbiologist, Infectious Diseases Physician) Dr. Jim Mahoney (Virologist) Dr. Zhou Xing (Immunologist) Dr. Tim O Shea (Public Health Specialist, Infectious Diseases Physician) Course description: This course introduces students to both the fundamentals of medical microbiology and the advanced research results on all major groups of infectious agents. The fundamentals include the epidemiology, geographic distribution, ecology, and evolution of microbial pathogens; infectious disease immunology and vaccination; pathogenesis and virulence factors; diagnostics and treatments; and antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. The groups of infectious microbes covered include viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and fungi. The lectures will cover materials derived from both textbooks and recent research articles. In addition, during tutorial, students will be actively involved in analyzing and discussing the primary literature in the broad field of medical microbiology, including the economical, social, and ethical issues related to infectious diseases. Time and location of regular lectures: Friday 11:30-13:20 MDCL1009 Time and location of tutorial sections: T01 Wednesday 14:30-17:20 MDCL1009 T02 Monday 8:30-11:20 MDCL1115 T03 Friday 14:30-17:20 MDCL1116 Tutorial sessions will be organized and led by teaching assistant Eta Ashu. Each student will give a total of two presentations during the semester. The first presentation is 25min long with 5min of questions while the second is 15min long with 5min of questions. The first presentation deals with an original research/opinion paper on medical microbiology. The Instructor/TA will provide a list of papers from which students can choose. The second presentation is based on the student s research proposal on a specific medical microbiology problem (see below). These sessions will assist students to become familiar with current and significant medical microbiology issues, to communicate them verbally, to come up with innovative ways to address medical microbiology problems, and to appreciate and respond to the work of fellow students effectively. Evaluation: Course evaluation will consist of the following five components:

2 1. A research proposal (worth 15% of course mark; a maximum of 5 pages plus references and tables and figures, single-line spaced) dealing with solving one specific problem in medical microbiology. The proposal topic should be discussed with and approved by your TA and/or Instructor. Three copies of a draft of the proposal should be handed in to your TA before the Reading Week and the TA will distribute each proposal to two of your classmates for reviewing. Your TA will also review each draft. The reviews and comments will be collected after the Fall Break. Students will revise their proposals based on the comments, including preparing a rebuttal letter on how you dealt with the comments from your peers and TA. Grading will be based on the revised proposal as well as the submitted rebuttal letter. Five of the 15 marks will be given to reviewing over your peers proposals (2.5% for each review). The Instructor/TAs will provide the guidelines for writing, reviewing, and grading of the proposal (see details on A2L). 2. Presentations, tutorial participations (20% total). The first presentation (8% of the total course grade; 25min long, 5min for questions) deals with an original research paper. Students may choose the paper from the list provided or choose their own from the primary literature on medical microbiology (e.g. from journals such as EID, CID, I&I; PLoS Pathogen; Med Mycol; AAC; JCM; and Virology etc.). The second presentation is on the written proposal (6% of total course mark, 15min long, 5min for questions). A one-page summary should be provided to fellow tutorial classmates at the beginning of both presentations. Each summary will be worth 1% of the total course mark for a total of 2%. Tutorial participation and discussion will account for 4% of the total mark. 3. In-class quizzes (10%). There will be five in-class quizzes with each worth 2%. 4. Assignment (5%) with three questions posted after the first lecture. 5. Midterm test (20%). A 1.5hr midterm test covering materials from the first half of the course will be conducted during class time on Friday, October 17 th. 6. Final exam (30%). A two-hour final exam will be organized by the Registrar s Office. The test will include materials covered after the midterm. ** For graduate students taking this course for credit (BIOLOGY 6P03), the final exam will be worth 20% (not 30%) of their total grade. The 10 marks will be re-distributed to the research proposal (worth 25% now). The research proposal will need to address two interrelated medical microbiology problems (not one as required for undergraduate students). As a result, the proposal will have an upper length limit of 10 pages long including references, single-spaced. The second presentation will be longer than the undergraduates as well, at 25min plus 5min for questions. The first presentation, peer-reviewing, in-class quizzes, assignments, and participation marks will be the same for both graduate and undergraduate students. In accordance with the "Senate Resolution on Course Outlines," the instructors reserve the right to make changes in the course that may occur as the course progresses. In accordance with University policy, academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will not be tolerated. If you need to clarify what constitutes plagiarism, please consult the statement on Academic Dishonesty in the Senate Policy Statements available either in abbreviated form in the university calendar or in entirety at: The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term. The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances. If either type of modification becomes necessary, students will be given reasonable notice with an

3 explanation and an opportunity to comment on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check their McMaster and course websites weekly during the term and to note any changes. Reference textbook: Murray P. R. et al. (2005) Medical Microbiology, 5 th edition. Mosby Publishers. Slonczewski and Foster. 2009/2012. Microbiology: An Evolving Science. W.W. Norton & Co, NY. REFERENCE MATERIALS: American Society for Microbiology review journals and other relevant periodicals are available in Health Sciences Library.

4 Course Schedule Week 1. Lecture 1. Friday, Sept 5. Course Introduction and Infectious Disease Epidemics (Dr. Xu) Lecture 2. Friday, Sept 5. Introduction to Clinical Microbiology (Dr. Xu) No tutorial this week. Students should download the list of suggested papers or choose a primary research paper by themselves for the first presentation. Week 2. Lecture 3. Friday, Sept 12. Infectious Disease Epidemiology: Relative Risk, Odds Ratio, Herd Immunity, Clinical Trial Design, and Statistical Analysis (Dr. Xu) Lecture 4. Friday, Sept 12. Genetic and Genomic Variation of Human Pathogens (Dr. Xu) Tutorial: Set up tutorial groups. Decide order of first round of presentations. Choosing research papers for first presentation. Handing out guidelines for research proposal writing. Discuss potential research topics. Week 3 Lecture 5. Friday, Sept 19. Medical Parasitology - Gastrointestinal Parasites (Dr. Smieja) Lecture 6. Friday, Sept 19. Medical Parasitology - Blood and Tissue Parasites (Dr. Smieja) Week 4 Lecture 7. Friday, Sept 26. Fundamentals of Medical Virology (Dr. Mahoney) Lecture 8. Friday, Sept 26. Viral Diseases Case Studies (Dr. Mahoney) Week 5. Lecture 9. Friday, October 3. Infection by Body Systems-I (Dr. O Shea) Lecture 10. Friday, October 3. Infection by Body Systems-II (Dr. O Shea) Week 6. Lecture 11. Friday, October 10. Medical Mycology Fundamentals and Diversity of Agents (Dr Xu) Lecture 12. Friday, October 10. Medical Mycology Pathogenesis and Virulence Factors (Dr. Xu) Week 7.

5 Friday, October 17. Midterm Exam: Covers materials from lectures 1 to 12 in room MDCL1009 from 11:30-1:20. No tutorial this week. Week 8 Draft essay due this week. Draft essay handed out for peer-review. Lecture 13. Friday, October 24. Bacterial Pathogenesis An Overview (Dr. P. Jayaratne) Lecture 14. Friday, October 24. Bacterial Pathogenesis - Virulence Factors (Dr. P. Jayaratne) Week 9 Midterm recess (October 30-November 1), no lecture this week No formal tutorial this week. Review of peer essays Week 10 Lecture 15. Friday, November 7. Bacterial Pathogenesis Toxins (Dr. P. Jayaratne) Lecture 16. Friday, November 7. Hospital and Community-Acquired Infections and Infection Control (Dr. P. Jayaratne) Reviews and drafts of essays return to your TA. Reviewer comments and essay return to students; decide order of the second round presentation Week 11 Lecture 17. Friday, November 14. Biosafety and Bioterrorism (Dr. Zhou Xing) Lecture 18. Friday, November 14. Anti-microbial Innate Immunity (Dr. Zhou Xing) Week 12 Lecture 19. Friday, November 21. Anti-microbial Adaptive Immunity (Dr. Zhou Xing) Lecture 20. Friday, November 21. Human Vaccination against Infectious Diseases (Dr. Zhou Xing) Week. 13 Lecture 21. Friday, November 28. Antibiotics and Susceptibility Testing (Dr. Xu) Lecture 22. Friday, November 28. Antibiotic Resistance (Dr. Xu) Revised research proposal due. AVAILABILITY OF INSTRUCTORS: Dr. JP Xu is available by (jpxu@mcmaster.ca) and A2L for specific questions arising from course material. Dr. Xu will attend some of the tutorials and can address questions about the course after lectures and tutorials.