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~Graduation Requirements~
General Master of Science in Microbiology & Immunology
Students must earn a minimum total of 30 credit hours from the Microbiology & Immunology department. The Program Director will personally advise the students regarding their core curriculum and choice of electives. The final GPA must be 3.0 or above.
Master of Science in Biomedical Science Policy & Advocacy
Students must earn a minimum total of 30 credit hours from both the Biomedical Sciences departments and the Science, Technology, and International Affairs division. Students must complete required core courses as well as choose from an array of appropriate electives. The final GPA must be 3.0 or above. Student curricula can be customized in individual cases to give more attention to a preferred area of study.
Master of Science in Biohazardous Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases
Students must earn a minimum of 30 credit hours in the program curriculum. Students must complete required core courses as well as choose from an array of appropriate electives. The final GPA must be 3.0 or above.
PhD Degree Requirements
The program is designed to provide the predoctoral student with a broad background in microbiology and immunology, and at the same time allow for increasing specialization in subdisciplines in preparation for a career in research and teaching. A minimum of 34 credit hours is required for the Ph.D. It is expected that all students will complete courses in General Microbiology, General Biochemistry, Advanced Techniques in Microbiology and Immunology, and Microbiology Seminar. Graduate level specialty courses offered by the Department of Microbiology and Immunology or other graduate departments of the University may be taken to fulfill the remainder of the credit hour requirement, and are chosen after consultation with the student's advisor. For students entering with advanced degrees, the program can be modified in accordance with their previous background, training and interests.
The degree requirements for the doctoral candidate also include a high level of performance in the two-part (written and oral) comprehensive examination that is ordinarily given between the 3rd and 4th semester of the student's residence, and the preparation and defense of a dissertation based on original laboratory research under the mentorship of a full-time member of the Department as a final examination.
In order to develop teaching skills as well as research capabilities, the Department requires all trainees to participate in its teaching programs for medical students.
The research training offered to degree candidates is closely related to faculty research activities which include cell biology, cellular immunology, drug discovery, immunogenetics, infectious disease, medical mycology, microbial biochemistry, microbial genetics, molecular genetics, molecular immunology, transplantation immunology, tumor immunology, and virology.
Microbiology & Immunology Course Catalogue
MICB 515: Biological Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases
This beginning course will cover the basic principles of microbiology for graduate students with a wide variety of backgrounds who need a basic understanding of microbiology including bacteriology, virology, and immunology. Introductory lectures on these topics will precede a more in-depth review of biological threat agents and emerging infectious diseases. Issues of Public Policy and Advocacy with respect to biohazardous agents will also be addressed.
3 credits, Dr. Rosenthal Fall 2004 Syllabus
MICB 516: Biological & Radiological Safety
This course will cover the biological safety levels (BSL) for containment working with biological agents - both recombinant DNA and emerging infectious diseases. Radiological safety - will discuss the issues of dirty bombs, containment, and health issues associated with radioactive materials that bioterrorists might employ.
2 credits, S. Martin & C. Kovats Spring 2005 Syllabus
MICB 517: Bioterrorism
This course explains terrorism in its modern form, and why the use of these weapons is more likely today. In addition, the course presents the major biological and other weapons thought most likely to be used, discusses techniques to use these weapons, and discusses the techniques to prevent and control the effects of these weapons.
3 credits, Dr. Daddio Fall 2004 Syllabus
MICB 518: Principles of Biodefense
This course will focus on the threats posed by biological and toxin agents and give a systematic review of past and current biodefense efforts. A history of production and use by state and non-state actors as well as unclassified overview of intelligence and law enforcement information on the biological threat will be discussed. Concepts of target choices and vulnerabilities as well as attack consequences, response efforts, and threat mitigation will also be treated. A field trip to USAMRIID is planned.
4 credits, Drs. Rosenthal & Bray Spring 2005 Syllabus
MICB 519: Sociological Perspectives on Biodefense
This course will critically examine political and organizational controversies about recognizing and defending against biological threats to human well-being. The first third of the course will study historical case studies of biological threat, including threats from food and infectious diseases such as cholera and the flu. This section of the course will demonstrate how biosurveillance, the systematic identification and acknowledgement of a biothreat, depends upon broad social, economic and political factors as well as its biological characteristics. This section of the course will close with a detailed review of the pandemic influenza plans of the US government. The second third of the course examines the debate about reforming our government bureaucracy responsible for responding to biothreats, including but not limited to terrorists. Why did we not recognize the emerging threat of the 9/11 attacks? What principles should we apply in reforming our intelligence and homeland defense organizations? How should we think of natural biothreats from an intelligence perspective? The course concludes with close examination of sociological perspectives on designing effective organizations for responding to threats including biothreats using the US government's pandemic flu plans as a case study. Why do organizational failures occur even in organizations capable of responding to novel threats and unanticipated events? We will close the course by examining how one society responded to a major biological catastrophe, the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine. By the end of this course, students should gain an appreciation of the fundamentally political character of biodefense.
3 Credits, Dr. Collmann
MICB 521: Biosurveillance: An Applied, Multidisciplinary Perspective
This course will cover managing biological threat through biosurveillance. A laboratory component will examine medical, animal, zoonoic, crop, and food surveillance - as well as detection of catastrophic bioevents. Students will participate in simulations of bioterrorist attacks to illustrate the use of surveillance to trigger response.
3 credits each, Drs. Collmann & Wilson Fall 2005 Syllabus - Biosuveillance I
MICB 523: Biodefense Public Health Counter-measures
This course will examine four Public Health countermeasures against biological threat agents: vaccines, antimicrobials, isolation, and quarantine. Detailed analyses of the SARS outbreak of 2003, the anthrax attacks of 2001, and the US smallpox vaccination program will include lessons learned that can be applied to preparing for pandemic influenza, pneumonic plague, or catastrophic bioterrorism as anticipated by the US Cities Readiness Initiative. Vaccines, both licensed and investigational, will be emphasized throughout this 30-hour course. The FDA regulatory process required for the study and licensure of vaccines will be also detailed. Grading will be based on a written exam and on a term paper that focuses on an area chosen by the student. After submission of the final paper it must be defended.
2 credits, Dr. Lucey Syllabus Fall 2005
MICB 524: Emerging Diseases: The Past as Prologue
This course will study recent infectious disease outbreaks including Marburg virus in Angola 2005; Nipah virus in Bangladesh 2004, Monkeypox in the USA 2003, SARS in Hong Kong and Toronto 2003, West Nile Virus in the USA 1999-2006, Plague in India 2004, Hantavirus in the USA 1993, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic 1981-2006. Emphasis will be two-fold: (1) the interaction between the infectious disease pathogen and the human immune response, and (2) common public health and political themes in these outbreaks and how they will help prepare for future emerging (entirely novel) or re-emerging diseases (new within a given environment) diseases. Students will participate in a "tabletop exercise" on how to manage an emerging disease outbreak.
2 credits, Dr. Lucey [no syllabus available]
MICB 525: Homeland Security 2015
This course will delve into the future on what homeland security will be like in year 2015. Current assessments and future predictions will be analyzed. Threats, trends, and implications for homeland security in 2015 will be examined.
3 Credits, Dr Pollard Syllabus Fall 2005
MICB 526: Chemical Threat Agents
The Threat of Chemical Weapons is a survey of chemical weapons issues with an eye toward health-related topics. Students will review the key institutions, individuals, and instruments involved of science and technology (S&T) policy with respect to chemical agents.
3 Credits, Dr Woytowicz Syllabus Spring 2006
MICB 550: Pathogenesis & Therapy of Bioterrorism Related Diseases
Microorganisms and toxins that could be employed by terrorists as biological weapons have been ranked in the order of their potential threat as Category A, B and C agents by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. This course will examine the mechanisms by which the most virulent (Category A) and certain Category B and C agents cause severe illness in humans and laboratory animals and will review current approaches to the treatment of these diseases. Students enrolling for this course should have completed MICB-515 or have an equivalent background in biology and immunology.
2 Credits, Dr. Michael Bray, MD, MPH
MICB 551: Seminar in Biohazardous Threat Agents
Individual topics will vary depending on the expertise of each speaker.
1 credit, Dr. Rosenthal Spring 2005 Speaker Schedule
MICB 556: Defense Threat Reduction Initiatives
This elective course is focused on exploring the various aspects of how the US government, specifically the Department of Defense, works to safeguard America and its allies from weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high yield explosives) by providing capabilities to reduce, eliminate, and counter the threat, and to mitigate its effects. An initial analysis of the current and potential nuclear/radiological, biological and chemical threat will set the stage; and the medical effects of these weapons will be briefly reviewed. Various threat reduction strategies and their medical consequences including the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty will be surveyed. Moreover, elimination efforts such as the Chemical Demilitarization Program will be covered. Public health and medical consequences related to the enormous task of mitigating the effects of a WMD will be covered. The course will consist primarily of lecture/discussion format with readings designed to enhance student knowledge and provoke discussion; and subject matter experts from various government agencies will present their respective roles in this realm.
2 Credits, Dr. Ryung Suh
MICB 560: Principles and Applications of Drug Discovery
This is an elective multi-disciplinary course and focuses on various human diseases for which development of therapeutics are needed. In the first part of the course, the course will cover basic principles of medicinal chemistry, strategies and techniques used in structure activity relationship and pharmacore identification. The course will also cover synthesis, selection and optimization of drug-like compounds using a variety of modern techniques such as molecular docking based on known three-dimensional structures of therapeutic targets as well as structure determination of target/ligand complexes by using X-ray crystallography, NMR.and/or proteomics. In the second part of the course, applications of drug discovery to specific human diseases. This part will include development of new antibiotics to combat drug-resistant bacteria, anti-fungal, antivirals (HIV-1, HBV/HCV, Flu, HPV and flaviviruses), and anti-malaria drugs as well as drugs against CNS disorders and human cancers.
2 Credits, Dr. Milton Brown & R. Padmanabhan
MICB 584: Introduction to Microbiology
Introduction to the disciplines of microbiology and immunology through presentation and exploration of several topics of major current interest. Each lecture will begin with a broad introduction to the subject, followed by a discussion of how the topic has been approached experimentally and the impact of recent advances. Potential topics covered include: antigen presentation, natural killer cells, development of antifungal therapeutics, commensal bacteria and the immune system, and host responses to viral infection and viral countermeasures.
1 credit, Dr. Casey [no syllabus available]
MICB 600/601: Seminar: Science Policy & Advocacy
This graduate seminar will introduce students to the discipline of science policy and advocacy, with special focus on its application to the biomedical sciences. Expert speakers will both present the theory behind science policy & advocacy, as well as examine specific events and issues directly related to science policy and advocacy activities.
2 credits, Dr. Calderone Spring 2005 Syllabus
MICB 604: Innovation Systems in Science, Technology & Health
This course focuses on science and technology policy. It will examine the science, technology and health innovation system, with a particular focus on public policy and the federal government's role in that system. It will review the foundations of innovation systems theory and organization, and the range of approaches to science and technology policy, and build toward a sophisticated understanding of these areas. Emphasis will also be placed on examining the organization and role of medical science innovation agencies, gaps in the health innovation economic model, and on policies that could help fill those gaps in health innovation. The mechanisms through which government obtains the science advice that is increasingly important to public policy will be discussed as well as the future of the science talent base. The class will review pending proposals for improving the government-related elements of the innovation system on an ongoing basis.
2 credits, W. Bonvillian
MICB 605: Principles of Science, Health, and Technology Policy
A study of interactions between, technology, and public policy with an eye towards health-related topics. The class will examine who brings advice, what content is communicated, who uses it, and how it becomes public policy.
3 credits, Dr. Woytowicz Spring 2005 Syllabus
MICB 606: Public Policy for Scientists
This interdisciplinary course will provide introductory lectures in a variety of fields that pertain to biomedical science policy & advocacy. Lectures will cover relevant federal agencies, prominent science advocacy groups and techniques, principles of health economics, funding of research activities, the interaction of science & industry, as well as some controversial issues in science policy such as biodefense, stem cell research, and climate change. Students will be left with a multi-faceted understanding of the environment that shapes biomedical science policy and the scientists' role in this arena.
4 credits, Dr. Calderone & Staff Syllabus Fall 2005
MICB 607: General Medical Microbiology & Immunology
The course consists of lectures and laboratories which integrate the basic concepts of microbiology and immunology with the role of microorganisms as pathogenic agents. Major emphasis is placed on bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites in infectious disease. The clinical applications of immunology are also discussed. (Note that the course is on the Medical School calendar, beginning in late August and ending in mid-February.) Students who wish exposure only to one part of the course (immunology, bacteriology, virology) are encouraged to consider enrolling in one of the three courses existing for this purpose (609, 610, 611, respectively)
7 credits, Dr. Herscowitz & staff Fall 2004 Syllabus
MICB 608: Fundamentals of Medical Immunology & Microbiology
Introduction to fundamental concepts of Medical Microbiology and Immunology with emphasis on host defense mechanisms and the role of microorganisms in infectious diseases. Lectures will cover basic principles and clinical applications of immunology, bacterial physiology and genetics, and the role of pathogenic bacteria, fungi and viruses in human diseases.
2 credits, Dr. Herscowitz Fall 2004 Syllabus
MICB 609: Introductory Immunology
Introduction to the basic principles of immunology and immunogenetics. The course is offered as the first quarter of MICB-607 and is taught during the months of August and September. It is recommended for students who wish exposure to only the immunology section of that course. Permission of course director is required.
2 credits, Dr. Herscowitz & staff Fall 2004 Syllabus
MICB 610: Introductory Bacteriology
Introduction to the basic principles of bacterial physiology, genetics, and pathogenicity. The course consists of the second quarter of MICB-607 and is taught during the months of October, November, and December. It is intended for students who wish exposure only to the bacteriology section of that course. Permission of course director is required.
2 credits, Dr. Calderone & staff [no syllabus]
MICB 611: Introductory Virology
Introduction to the basic principles of virology with emphasis on human pathogens. The course consists of the third quarter of MICB-607 and is taught during the months of January, February, and March. It is intended for students who wish exposure to only the virology section of that course. Permission of course director is required.
2 credits, Dr. Cole & staff [no syllabus]
MICB 612: Immunology
The course will focus on the cells, organs and molecules of the immune system and how they contribute to discrimination of self from non-self. The paradigm used in the course will be the host response to infectious agents. Hypersensitivity, autoimmunity, graft rejection and tumor immunity will be considered as variations in the basic protective function of the immune system.
3 credits, Dr. Cole [no syllabus]
MICB 613: Introductory Bacteriology Lab
Laboratory section taught concurrently with MICB-610. Lab work includes general methods associated with the culture and identification of medically important bacteria and fungi. Laboratory fee is required of students not enrolled in departmental degree programs.
1 credit, Dr. Cole [no syllabus]
MICB 614: Bacteriology & Mycology
The course will focus on principle human pathogenic bacteria and fungi. The host-pathogen relationship and antimicrobial therapy will be grounded in an understanding of the structure and physiology of medically-important prokaryotes and lower eukaryotes.
3 credits, Dr. Cole [no syllabus]
MICB 619 Biology/Biochemistry of Viruses
This course will cover the general principles of virology. Topics will include: the effects of viruses on human health and disease; laboratory approaches to studying viruses; virus structure and mechanisms of replication; host responses to virus infection and viral counter-responses; virus engineering - including vaccine development and gene therapy; the role of virus ecology in emerging viral diseases. The focus will be primarily on viruses that affect human health.
3 credits, Dr. Casey [no syllabus]
MICB 622: Advanced Techniques in Microbiology I
Practical course on performing experiments which require use of ultracentrifuge, scintillation counting equipment, thin-layer and column chromatography, mass culture of organisms, acrylamide gel electrophoresis, PCR, DNA sequencing, and other techniques. Limited to Department of Microbiology and Immunology graduate students; advisor/instructor permission required.
3 to 6 credits, Dr. Fonzi [no syllabus]
MICB 629: Mechanisms of Microbial Pathogenesis
A course designed to explore the varied ways pathogenic bacteria overcome natural host defense, to describe host responses to infection, and to discuss the network of interactions between pathogen and man at the molecular and cellular level.
3 credits, Dr. Cole Syllabus Spring 2006
MICB 650: The Human Immune System in Health & Disease
At the completion of the course the student will understand how the immune system recognizes foreignness outside and inside the body; the tissue damaging consequences of the immune system when it fails to distinguish between self and non-self and the value of immunological reagents in diagnosis and treatment of disease.
2 credits, Dr. Cole Spring 2005 Syllabus
MICB 800 & 801: Seminar - Global Infectious Diseases
This graduate seminar is a unique combination of presentations by experts in biomedical sciences, policy, and social science that are united by key topics in global infectious diseases. The purpose of this seminar series is to provide a venue for the discussion of interdisciplinary research and development that acknowledges how the world has become a global system for the propagation of infectious disease.
2 credits, Staff
MICB 825: Social Propagation of Global Infectious Disease
This course will examine the hypothesis that the world has become a global system for the propagation of infectious disease. Beginning with an analysis of global trade and the spread of infectious disease, we will carefully study the economic, social and political conditions that have increased both the biological threat of, and human vulnerability to infectious disease throughout the world. In studies of the United States and Brazil, we will focus in detail on how the experience of poverty affects peoples? sense of risk, particularly for sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS and cervical cancer. In studies of Haiti, Venezuela, and other countries, we will extend that analysis by examining how social inequality helps structure the global distribution of contracting and receiving treatment for infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera and malaria in the developed and developing world. We will finish the course by examining how countries throughout the world have increased human vulnerability to infectious disease by undermining their public health infrastructures. After completing this course, students should better understand the complexity of global infectious disease as a biological, sociological, economic and political phenomenon.
2 credits, J. Collmann
MICB 852: Seminar: Microbiology & Immunology
Individual topics will vary depending on the expertise of each speaker. PhD students will attend all lectures and give seminar presentations covering progress of their work.
2 credits, Dr. Calderone
MICB 901: Internship Tutorial: Integrated Biosurveillance
Students will pursue defined objectives in biosurveillance. The internship will tackle integrated and multidisciplinary approaches to biosurveillance activity.
3 to 6 credits, Dr. Wilson Syllabus
MICB 999: Thesis Research in Microbiology (PhD)
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