Microbiology

This course covers the genetics of bacteria, bacteriophages, and viruses, with consideration of plasmids, transposons, and more, as well as practical applications of bacterial genetics (DNA probes, recombinant vaccines, etc.). Prerequisite: Any course in microbiology or genetics

This is a general course in medical microbiology that looks at bacterial structure, function, growth, nutrition, metabolism, genetics, and control of microorganisms. Medical Microbiology also includes a survey of pathogenic bacteria and fungi, as well as an introduction to viral structure replication, pathogenesis, and control of common viral agents that cause disease in humans. A laboratory component is attached to the course and an extensive paper is to be submitted on an assigned topic. Prerequisite: General Microbiology (BIOL 401)

History of Microbiology studies the origins and development of the science of microbiology using a historical approach from the Renaissance to the postantibiotic era. The course will involve lectures, discussions, guided readings, and the preparation of a term paper. Prerequisite: General Microbiology (BIOL 401) or Biology (BIOL 301)

This course examines the influence of medicinal plants (herbal remedies) in 20th century medicine. The advantages and disadvantages of medicinal plant usage are examined, as is the evaluation of the use of certain medicinal plants.

This course will discuss the relevance of the biofilm mode of growth with regard to infectious diseases and disease processes (enhanced microbial survival, evasion of immune response components, etc.), focus on infections of indwelling medical devices (heart valves, catheters, artificial joints), and examine the relevance of biofilm formation with regard to treatment strategies and failures.

This course examines strict anaerobe maintenance, DNA extraction, DNA-DNA reassociation, sequencing, electrophoresis of proteins, indirect immunofluorescence, chemical analysis of cell walls, G+C content in DNA, gas chromatography, radioisotope techniques, microbial physiology, light-scanning electron microscopy, PCR primer design, detection of specific microorganisms, gene cloning, plotting and reference programs, and 16S rRNA database interaction.

The effective organization and presentation of scientific information is a necessary skill for students in the master's and PhD degree programs to acquire. Scientific texts tend to follow very specific rules in terms of style, grammar, and format, regardless of whether a graduate thesis or journal article is being produced. This course aims to provide students with an introduction to some of the stylistic rules and technical aspects of presenting scientific data. Specifically, this course will target graduate-level theses, scientific articles, poster presentations, and oral presentations. As this is a course aiming to teach practical writing skills, a large component of the class is the production of a formal research proposal by students.

This two-credit course has been designed to provide students with an understanding of the major principles and mechanisms underlying the various aspects of the immune system, including tissues, cells, and soluble molecules. There is an emphasis on the interaction between innate and acquired immunity in response to inflammation and infection by different groups of pathogens. Clinically relevant topics are also emphasized. In addition to classroom instruction, students must do extensive literature research on a particular topic and submit a 20-page essay on this topic. Classroom instruction is completed with medical students enrolled in Medical Immunology.

Students shall conduct research on a topic approved by their graduate supervisory committee for the MSc thesis.

The student shall conduct a research Project and be able to collect, analyze, and interpret the results, culminating in the writing of an integrated PhD thesis containing at least two accepted or published peer-reviewed scientific journal articles. Mentoring will be available during the research and writing process.