The main purpose of the Seminar is to provide students with the opportunity to develop the confidence and skills necessary to make successful scientific presentations, enhance their critical thinking, and engage in thoughtful and productive scientific discussions with their professors and peers. In this course, doctoral graduate students are scheduled to present either a research article or their own work in a 50 min seminar (allowing for 10 min discussion). Masters students are required to attend and participate in the seminars and to write a one-page summary describing the content and significance of each seminar.

This course is designed to introduce students to a number of current research fields through studying published research papers, general public resource, and other material. Students will pick a topic of their interest, specifically one that is current. Students will present a summary of their topic to the class and will generate questions for their classmates that will stimulate discussions. Topics can include basic, applied, and clinical research and reviews to canvass the latest developments in the field of Microbiology and/or Immunology.

This course is a journal club format for discussion of current topics in Microbiology and Immunology. Students will present a seminar to the class on a selected research paper approved by the course instructor. Students will explain the topic background and specific hypothesis being tested, describe in detail the experimental design and results, and discuss the conclusions reached and whether or not they were justified. The student audience is expected to participate in class discussion following the presentation. In addition, each student is required to write a short summary explaining the hypothesis, content and significance of the findings for each presented paper.

This course is for students in the Masters Program in Microbiology who have chosen the thesis track for completion of their degree. The thesis track involves writing a review style paper on a topic of the student’s choice. It does not involve bench research. This course will guide students through the writing process in relation to the field of biomedical science. Topics to be covered include: Defining the scope of the thesis Structuring an outline Collecting, interpreting and critically analyzing literature Scientific writing skills Reference management Document formatting Throughout the semester, students will be required to develop their own thesis research topics, review relevant research and scholarship, and complete their thesis outline with guidance from departmental faculty.

This course is for students in the Master of Science Program in Microbiology and Immunology who have chosen the thesis track for completion of their degree. This course will guide students through the scientific writing process, with a focus in the field of biomedical science. In doing so, students will be expected to critically analyze scientific literature in the fields of microbiology and immunology. Weekly sessions will focus on the scientific writing process, critical analysis of published literature, slide presentation preparation, and providing constructive feedback as a reviewer.

Clinical case reports are a means of disseminating new knowledge gained from medical practitioners. In this course, we will discuss clinical cases relevant to immunology or microbiology and then dissect the underlying disease mechanisms discussed within the case. Class discussion will include guest lectures by clinicians that present clinical cases within their specialties. Topics will include acute infections, chronic infections, inflammatory diseases, cancer, etc. By completion of the course, students will be familiar with presenting clinical cases will have acquired knowledge on the underlying immunologic and/or microbial mechanisms on cases discussed. In small groups, students will also select and present a relevant case study to fellow students and instructor(s).

The course includes lecture and discussion of fundamental and advanced topics in medically relevant virology. Each week, a member of the Tulane faculty with expertise in the field will give a presentation on a topic as indicated in the schedule below, and during the following session, will lead a discussion on assigned original research papers from peer-reviewed journals. Topics have been selected from the current literature to allow incorporation of fundamental principles of virology into the current context of the field. With the help of the instructor, students will critically review the original research papers to access the rationale of the study and its significance for the field, to analyze the experimental approach, and to examine the data generated and interpretations offered. An important part of the course is participation in the class discussion, which will include the following components: (a) familiarity with the papers discussed (b) ability to respond to questions that may be posed in advance by instructors (c) ability to initiate and support discussion of the material presented by other students

Popular media claims microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa) living in or on the human body outnumber human cells by 10 to one. Recent evidence suggests this ratio may be lower; however, the fundamental relationship between microbes and humans cannot be denied. Microbes provide essential roles in human health but also can be the stalwarts of disease. Mucosal surfaces represent the largest frontline between microbes and humans. If you put your finger on your cheek, then trace to your lip, eventually that trace would lead back to the epithelial lining of the colon, then out the back end. In essence this tells us the gastrointestinal tract is outside of our bodies. Mucosal immune responses regulate an individual’s health or disease status. During this course, we will evaluate strategies employed by the mucosal immune system to keep symbiotic balance and evaluate strategies used by microbes to evade immune responses. Topics will include microbial colonization, tolerance, long-term consequences of acute infections, and development of chronic inflammatory diseases. By completion of the course, students will have explored immunologic-microbial interfaces through reading and extensive discussion of primary journal articles, usually 2 per class. Students will also select a relevant topic and prepare a short perspective to be edited and refined through an in-class peer-review process. Fundamental understanding of immunology and microbiology is absolutely required.

This course provides students with an introduction and broad overview to the basic biochemical, molecular and immunological techniques that are commonly used in biomedical research. Topics covered include: cell culture techniques, basic microscopy, recombinant DNA technology and protein analysis methods, amongst others. The theory behind the various techniques, practical applications, and the general procedures for carrying them out will be described. Hands on sessions be included. After taking the course students will have a good fundamental background in molecular methods as they are applied to biomedical research and be familiar with the terminology of molecular biology, thus giving students a better access to the scientific literature. You will gain an understanding of the various methods and their applications and will be better able to evaluate the merits of scientific papers by knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the various techniques used in biomedical research. Students pursuing a career in bench research will be better able to decide which methods to use in which situations and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the techniques.

This course addresses the process of experimental design and current experimental methodologies in biology. The goal of this course is to introduce graduate students to the principles of current advanced research methods, both in theory and in practice. Additionally, it will introduce methods for data mining, analysis and presentation. The course will be a mixture of lectures, discussion of research papers and hands on sessions using the instruments discussed during the respective sessions. Some sessions will also involve practical application of computer tools using experimental data sets. Students enrolled in this course will learn basic bioinformatics and data mining techniques using freely available web-based resources tools. Students will also be introduced to the use of advanced features in – amongst others - Microsoft Excel, Graphpad Prism, ImageJ and Microsoft Powerpoint in the analysis and graphical presentation of common types of experimental data. Participants will be expected to be reasonably familiar with the basic features of MS Office programs and to have an understanding of first year undergraduate-level statistics. The objective is to not only help students understand the methods they might use in research but to also alert them to alternative research methods that they might not have considered otherwise.

This course will discuss vaccines from their historical development to the most novel and recent strategies to create new vaccines or improve the ones currently existing. We will focus on vaccine antigens, immunological responses for successful vaccination, novel adjuvants, immunopotentiation approaches, and new vaccines. Specific topics will include methods to link innate and adaptive responses, virulence factors and their role in immunity, strategies used by pathogens to escape the host response, and new delivery systems and biotechnology approaches for the development of vaccines.

Students will work in a laboratory in agreement with the respective PI to learn how different methods are used to carry out research in Microbiology and Immunology. Students will need to do identify the Lab and PI on their own, using the online descriptions of the research performed in the individual labs (e.g. lab websites, descriptions provided through department websites etc). The program director will then advise on fit and feasibility. At the end of the semester, students will write a 2 to 3 –page summary describing what they learned and the methods they used.

Students will work in a laboratory in agreement with the respective PI to learn how different methods are used to carry out research in Microbiology and Immunology. Students will need to do identify the Lab and PI on their own, using the online descriptions of the research performed in the individual labs (e.g. lab websites, descriptions provided through department websites etc). The program director will then advise on fit and feasibility. At the end of the semester, students will write a 2 to 3 –page summary describing what they learned and the methods they used.

This course explores a variety of ethical and policy issues that arise during the conduct of basic, translational, and clinical biomedical scientific research, with special emphasis on research in infectious diseases. Topics addressed include: (1) research misconduct; (2) "every day" ethical issues faced by biomedical scientists; (3) the use of laboratory animals in scientific research; (4) human research participants and scientific research; (5) authorship practices in scientific publications; (6) conflicts of interest arising from scientists acting as policy consultants and experts; (7) data sharing and data secrecy; (8) mentoring; (9) research with stem cells; (10) the “dual-use” dilemma; (11) select agents and bioterrorism; and (12) scientists as citizens. Course sessions will include lectures, discussion periods, and analyses of case studies.

This course is designed to introduce graduate students to bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens that are the etiological agents of the most significant infectious diseases worldwide. The course will focus on the basic mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis with emphasis on the host-microbe interactions and the most recent advances on therapeutic and prophylactic treatments to combat these diseases. Important historical discoveries along with current scientific strategies to study the molecular basis of virulence will be discussed, and recent high impact publications will be assigned for reading and discussion.

This course is designed to teach students how to perform basic laboratory tests using simple diagnostic tests for infectious diseases techniques. The bulk of the course consists of hands-on laboratory experience conducting laboratory tests with simulated clinical specimens and analyzing prepared teaching specimens. Procedures for organism isolation and identification and rapid diagnostic kits will be covered.

This course is designed to provide a basis of terminology relevant to the basic concepts of immunology. It commences with the important components (cell, tissues; antibodies; immunoglobulins) involved in host defense against infectious agents. Introductory lectures serve to describe and differentiate between natural defense (innate) mechanisms and adaptive immunity mediated by functional B and T lymphocytes and their products. Subsequently, cellular interactions, especially the differentiation of helper T cells subsets and the production of relevant cytokines, will be described. This will include the mechanisms of T cell activation and regulation. Finally, clinical immunology will be discussed: autoimmunity and autoimmune diseases; hypersensitivity reactions, including atopic disorders and asthma; mechanisms of transplant rejection; and immunodeficiency disorders.

The class will be broken into 13 blocks consisting of two meetings per week. The first Thursday will consist of an informational session to discuss expectations. The rest of the course will be entirely discussion based. Prior to class, the instructor will email papers for the following week’s class. Students are expected to have read and be prepared to discuss any papers that have been sent. The first class of each week will consist of a historically important paper for that week’s topic. The second class will be a discussion of a more recent high impact paper from the field and how that works fits into the overall history and our understanding of immunity. Students will be called on in class to discuss specific figures, results, discussion, etc. from each paper.

This course consists of a basic introduction to medical mycology and a comprehensive study of the fungi (yeasts and molds) and mycoses (fungal diseases) likely to be encountered in clinical settings by a physician, medical mycologist, or medical technologist. Attention will be distributed as equally as possible between emphasis on the biology of the fungal pathogen and on its disease.

This three-hour class is offered exclusively to master’s students in the department of Microbiology and Immunology. The course consists of once-weekly hybrid lecture and complementary lab sessions, with the goal of enhancing knowledge and clinical lab skills in the field of parasitology. The three main areas of competency in this course are: 1) Parasitic diseases and the global burden of disease 2) Parasitology clinical laboratory skills 3) Identification and differentiation of parasitic clinical specimens Where students who have completed this course should be able to confidently prepare and identify various parasites from clinical samples and have a rich understanding of their associated diseases. Additionally, students will be encouraged to take part in a hands-on research project that will be lead alongside the class.

The scope of this course includes discussions, demonstrations and laboratory exercises performed in the clinical laboratory designed to familiarize the student with the principles, procedures and interpretation of manual and automated, general and advanced techniques as applied in microbiology laboratories. This course includes instruction in principles of instrumentation and methods of laboratory quality and infectious disease control and microbiology laboratory management.

This course is designed to introduce graduate students to the advanced and most recently developed methods and techniques in Molecular Biology. We will focus on recent new methods and technologies, including Gibson Cloning, DNA- and RNA guided CRISPR, Proximity Ligation, and Single Cell Sequencing etc., as well as the software tools and public databases for gene analysis and project design. Students need to have learned basic molecular biology or taken courses like Advanced Cell Biology (BMSP 6070), Genetics (EPID 6070 or GBCH 7170), or Methods in Biochemistry (GBCH 7580).

The main purpose of the Seminar is to provide students with the opportunity to develop the confidence and skills necessary to make successful scientific presentations, enhance their critical thinking, and engage in thoughtful and productive scientific discussions with their professors and peers. In this course, doctoral graduate students are scheduled to present either a research article or their own work in a 50 min seminar (allowing for 10 min discussion). Masters students are required to attend and participate in the seminars and to write a one-page summary describing the content and significance of each seminar.

1. Writing the thesis involves substantial independent library research and study working under the guidance of a professor from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.  The thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to: o communicate scientific information, o perform analytical literature review, o write a comprehensive summary of the most current state of knowledge in the chosen topic, o acquire scholarly competence and understanding in the field of study

Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.