Teaching

This course provides an opportunity for in-depth experiential learning through collaborative work on an independent research project.

This is a study abroad course for students interested in a pre-medical, pre-health or global health experience in sub-Saharan Africa. It is designed for those interested in medical or graduate school, tropical infectious diseases or a public health career, that provides opportunity for foreign travel. The focus is on molecular epidemiology of tropical diseases of interest (malaria, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis), for which opportunities to study are not available in the United States. Such opportunities include but are not limited to simple to complex molecular diagnostic methods and related laboratory hands on experience.

Introduction to parasites of medical importance and the diseases they cause. It includes study of a variety of parasites classified by diseases such as blood and intestinal protozoan parasites, nematodes, trematodes, and cestodes. Examples of important parasitic diseases to be covered include malaria, sleeping sickness, elephantiasis, river blindness, leishmaniasis, amebic dysentery, and babesiosis. Coursework includes an examination of the distribution and transmission, pathogenesis, clinical signs and symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and control. Contribution of parasitic infections to economic and health inequities between developed and developing countries will be analyzed.

The course covers applications of epidemiology to the study of the distribution and determinants of health and diseases, morbidity, injuries, disability, and mortality in populations. Epidemiologic methods for the control of conditions such as infectious and chronic diseases, community and environmental health hazards, and unintentional injuries are discussed. Other topics include quantitative aspects of epidemiology, including data sources; measures of morbidity and mortality; evaluation of association and causality; and various study design methods. Contemporary topics in public health (e.g. swine flu, HIV/AIDS, SARS), outbreak investigation, and containment strategies will be examined, analyzed, and thoroughly discussed.

This course provides an opportunity for in-depth experiential learning through collaborative work on an independent research project.

Introduction to the fundamental facts and concepts on immunology to include: innate and adaptive immunity; cells, molecules, tissues and organs of the immune "system"; cell communication and interaction; antibody structure and function; and the application of these concepts to infectious diseases, vaccine design, autoimmune diseases, cancer, transplantation, regulation of the immune response, allergic reactions and immunosuppression. Students will gain an understanding of immunological principles and techniques, and their application to contemporary research, with results from instructor’s research laboratory

This graduate course in the Medical Illustration (MFA) program will provide an introduction to the fundamental facts and concepts on immunology to include: innate and adaptive immunity; cells, molecules, tissues and organs of the immune "system"; cell communication and interaction; antibody structure and function; and the application of these concepts to infectious diseases, vaccine design, autoimmune diseases, cancer, transplantation, regulation of the immune response, allergic reactions and immunosuppression. Students will gain an understanding of immunological principles and techniques, and their application to contemporary research, with results from instructor’s research laboratory.