GPA

3.27

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The objective of this course is to provide students with an introductory understanding of viruses and their impact on human health. The course will be divided into two sections. During the first section, we will discuss the cellular and organismal events that occur following virus infection, including viral entry, replication, modulation of cell biology by viral proteins, the host immune response to infection, evasion of the immune response by viruses, and resulting virus-induced disease. The emphasis of this first section will be on the general strategies used by viruses to establish and maintain infection in a population. In the second section, we will discuss in relative detail our current understanding of select important human viruses including influenza, HIV, smallpox, the herpesviruses, and tumor-causing viruses. The objective of this section will be to understand how the unique aspects of each virus's biology affect the outcome of infection with these pathogens. In addition to virus-associated diseases, we will discuss potential ways that viruses may provide symbiotic benefits to their hosts and thereby shape the course of human evolution. Throughout the course, we will emphasize societal and political aspects of virology and virus-derived technologies, including vaccine development, the use of viruses as gene therapy vectors, and the threat of viral bioterror of bio-error.

Prerequisites