MIBM501

042229

This course will present basic concepts of microbial communities in the context of human health and disease and the methods in DNA-based compositional and functional analysis of complex microbial communities.

For a long time, understanding the role of microbial communities, their composition and function was challenging due their complexity and lack of appropriate methods. During this course, students will learn how to explore microbial communities using the Next Generation Sequencing methods and bioinformatic tools. Students will be introduced to and explore research methods and tools used to collect and analyze microbial communities. This course will cover the fundamentals of microbial ecology, the ecology of the microbial communities on and within the human body, the relationship between microbiota and their environment, and health consequences of community perturbations.

The course will be especially useful to pre-health science professions students (Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Public Health) as well as students planning a career in biomedical research

GRD - Regular Grades A, B, C, D, E

Graduate

Background classes in Microbiology and /or Biology are recommended but not required.