VMSC670

Prerequisite: Students planning to take this course are expected to have had some backgrounds in infectious diseases and molecular biology. Cross-listed with: EPIB670. Molecular epidemiology is a discipline that uses molecular microbiology tools to study the distribution and determinants of diseases in human and animal populations. This course will provide a comprehensive overview and detailed discussion of the core molecular approaches and recent technological advances that are and can be used to investigate the etiology, transmission, and control of infectious diseases in veterinary medicine and public health. Theoretical and practical aspects of various molecular biology methods will be discussed in the context of epidemiological studies of infectious diseases including both bacterial and viral infections of veterinary and zoonotic significance. Lecture topics will cover the principles and application of various molecular techniques to problems of infectious diseases; population and evolutionary genetics of pathogenic microorganisms; data analysis and interpretation. Lecture materials will also be supported with practical data analysis, literature review discussions, which will be student-driven that will critique relevant manuscripts via group discussions in the classroom.