Faculty First Year Seminars 191BIO10 - Evolutionary Medicine

Genes that cause some common human diseases can provide an advantage under certain scenarios (e.g. sickle cell trait in areas with high prevalence of malaria) or remain in a population because they are associated to some other advantageous trait (e.g. high levels of uric acid, like those found in patients with gout, might slow aging or tumor growth). Some others, like those associated to metabolic syndrome, seem to be remnants of our adaptation to an ancestral environment. There are numerous examples of how the application of evolutionary principles has enhanced the treatment of disease. In this seminar, we are going to explore examples of some diseases under the scope of evolutionary medicine. We are going to discuss the plausible origin of those diseases, what mechanisms may have allowed them to remain in the population, and how this knowledge can help us design better treatments and prevention strategies.

Freshmen Only