Course Description

GS07 0092 - Molecular Basis of Microbial Pathogenesis

The purpose of this course is to provide cutting-edge information on selected topics in microbial pathogenesis, including molecular mechanisms and emergent technologies. The Microbial Pathogenesis course will be based primarily on student and faculty presentations and discussion of recent scientific articles. The list of articles for each block of the course will be e-mailed to the enrolled students in advance. The class will be held in the MMG library Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-2 PM unless otherwise noted in the schedule.

This yearly, two-unit course is available for credit to all graduate students in the Houston Area Consortium (UT Health Science Center-Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, University of Houston, and Rice University). Prerequisites include previous coursework in microbiology and a basic knowledge of molecular biology techniques. Please contact Dr. Margolin to obtain specific information regarding the registration process. The deadline for registration is Jan. 6 (Jan. 7 – 13 for late UTLink Registration).

Please direct questions to Bill Margolin, William.Margolin@uth.tmc.edu (713-500-5452)

Course Schedule (Subject to Revision)

Details of reading materials are in preparation.

Class Date Instructor Topics Presenter

January

1 Tu Jan 10 Norris What is a pathogen? Norris

2 Th Jan 12 Garsin Grant Writing/Model hosts Garsin

3 Tu Jan 17 Lorenz Eukaryotic pathogens Lorenz

4 Th Jan 19 Lorenz Eukaryotic pathogens Fox

5 Tu Jan 24 Lorenz Eukaryotic pathogens Grossman

6 Th Jan 26 Lorenz Eukaryotic pathogens Greene

7 Tu Jan 31 Lorenz Eukaryotic pathogens Tapia

February

8 Th Feb 2 Margolin Adherence and biofilms Margolin

9 Tu Feb 7 Margolin Adherence and biofilms Kerr

10 Th Feb 9 Margolin Adherence Pflughoeft

11 Tu Feb 14 Margolin Intracellular survival Fox

12 Th Feb 16 Margolin Intracellular survival Grossman

13 Tu Feb 21 Koehler Toxins 1 Koehler

14 Th Feb 23 Koehler Toxins 2 Greene

15 Tu Feb 28 Koehler Toxins 3 Tapia

March

16 Th Mar 2 Koehler Toxins 4 Kerr

17 Fr Mar 3 Koehler Toxins 5 (Note unusual day) Pflughoeft

Mar 6 – 10 Spring Break

** Tu Mar 14 First mini-grant due (no class)

18 Th Mar 16 Garsin Virulence factors/Model hosts Fox

19 Tu Mar 21 Garsin Virulence factors/Model hosts Grossman

20 Th Mar 23 Garsin Immune responses/model hosts Greene

21 Tu Mar 28 Garsin Immune responses/model hosts Tapia

22 Th Mar 30 Norris Variation mechanisms/Host resistance 1 Kerr

April

23 Tu Apr 4 Norris Variation mechanisms/Host resistance 2 Pflughoeft

24 Th Apr 6 Norris Variation mechanisms/Host resistance 3 Fox

25 Tu Apr 11 Norris Variation mechanisms/Host resistance 4 Grossman

26 Th Apr 13 Christie Secretion & Pathogenesis 1 Christie

27 Tu Apr 18 Christie Secretion & Pathogenesis 2 Greene

28 Th Apr 20 Christie Secretion & Pathogenesis 3 Tapia

29 Tu Apr 25 Christie Secretion & Pathogenesis 4 Kerr

30 Th Apr 27 Christie Secretion & Pathogenesis 5 Pflughoeft

May

Fri May 5 (last day of Exam week) Second Mini-Grant Due

Grading:

Oral Presentations 4 presentations @ 15 % each 60

Mini-Grants 2 proposals @ 15 % each 30

Participation/Homework 10 % 10

Total: 100

Oral Presentations – Each student will make 4 presentations during the semester. Students may use the blackboard, overhead transparencies, or PowerPoint presentations. Emphasis should be placed on interpretation and analysis of the article in the context of its field of research, rather than just presenting the results. The presentations will be graded on the following criteria:

(2 pts) Clear statement of objective/hypothesis

(2 pts) Appropriate background information

(5 pts) Critical and clear presentation of experiments

(2 pts) Evaluation of the authors’ conclusions

(2 pts) Discussion of future directions

(2 pts) Presentation style

Homework – For each primary research paper discussed, each student will write one or two paragraphs critiquing the paper, using the following questions as a guide. Were there any flaws in the experiments or their design? Were the conclusions justified based on the data? What should the authors be working on next? Reports must be typed and are due at the beginning of the class in which the paper is presented. Be prepared to discuss your report in class.

Mini-Grants – In lieu of mid-term and final exams, each student will write 2 mini-grant proposals of 3 – 4 pages in length. The student will select one paper discussed in class (other than one that the student is assigned to discuss in class) prior to the proposal due date. The student will then meet with the faculty member who facilitated the class discussion of that paper. At this meeting, the student will present two to three specific aims to test hypotheses emerging from the findings of the research presented in the paper. Once the faculty member approves the aims, the student will develop each aim in the format of a mini-grant proposal of 4 pages maximum length. Each student must select a different paper than fellow students, and a given faculty member will approve of mini-grant proposals for only one to two papers from his/her section. The proposals will then be evaluated in a meeting of all 6 of the course instructors.

Faculty

William Margolin, Ph.D., Course Director

Professor

Dept. of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

University of Texas Medical School at Houston

William.Margolin@uth.tmc.edu

713-500-5452

Peter J. Christie, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Dept. of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

University of Texas Medical School at Houston

Peter.J.Christie@uth.tmc.edu