Biology 350id - Seminar: Topics in Molecular Biology

This seminar focuses on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), parasitic and viral diseases other rare diseases that are a public health concern, including Ebola, Chikungunya, Dengue Fever, West Nile, SARS, avian influenza, malaria, river blindness, anthrax and smallpox. We look at pandemics of the past (the influenza of 1918, the Black Death of the Middle Ages, the typhus epidemic of 1914–21) and modern biotechnology. The challenges are great, but new tools of molecular biology (genomics, proteomics, RNA interference, next-generation sequencing, etc.) provide an unprecedented opportunity to understand and develop new strategies for their elimination. Prerequisite: BIO 230. Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required.

[CE] JR/SR only; Prereq: BIO 230