Faculty of Arts & Sciences

Members of the Division of Biological Sciences offer hands-on experimental methods of research in biological sciences. Students write a paper and give an oral presentation regarding their 10-week laboratory project.

Respiratory measurements are an integral part of public health research. We will critically discuss their scientific bases, noting practical considerations and pitfalls, and their interpretations and inferences about physiological status and disease.

An introduction to the principles governing function in the human body designed to provide a framework in physiology for future public health researchers and professionals who have not taken college level physiology courses. Emphasis on the concept of homeostasis and on integrative aspects of physiology. Examples of pathophysiology and environmental physiology highlight these processes.

Surveys major human disease problems in the cardiovascular, respiratory, hematopoietic, reproductive, and gastrointestinal systems. Emphasis on understanding the pathophysiologic basis of common disease manifestations and the pathogenesis of the disease process.

Emphasizes mechanisms of injury and clinical consequences following exposures to environmental and occupational chemicals. Examines actions at the molecular, cellular, organ system, and organismal levels. Discusses methods for detecting, evaluating, analyzing, and combating toxic effects.

A review of the biochemistry of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals in the context of human disease. Contemporary topics are emphasized. Particular emphasis given to current knowledge of the mechanisms that may explain the role of diet in the causation and/or prevention of ischemic heart disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and cancer. Recommended dietary intakes of selected nutrients are discussed in order to understand their limitations.

A series of discussions and seminars each running for a half term (7-8 weeks).

Faculty present seminars on their current research in the biological sciences and direct a student discussion of the logic and experimental design of this research. Topics include chemical and viral carcinogenesis, DNA damage and repair, immunology, molecular biology, metabolism, cardiovascular disease, parasitology, and how these areas apply to public health issues.

Students have an opportunity to review and analyze key papers that provide physiological and molecular evidence that bears on a topic of current interest in human nutrition and related disorders. Additionally, students learn skills necessary for critical thinking, and oral and written presentations.

The intersection of environment and health is by necessity an interdisciplinary focus. The most promising advances in lung biology and respiratory disease are resulting from teams of scientists with diverse disciplinary training, including biology, medicine, engineering, and physics. In addition to a strong foundation in a specific discipline, the ability to recognize and act upon opportunities presented by outside disciplines is a crucial skill. This course is designed to train scientists to approach lung biology and respiratory diseases with an interdisciplinary perspective, in particular by bridging the gap between life sciences and physical/engineering sciences. With a focus on laboratory sciences and on mechanistic levels of understanding, course materials will cover 3 main problem areas: asthma, air pollution, and lung infection. The course consists of weekly course-meetings (lectures and case-studies) plus weekly research seminars from the physiology program. Students will gain skills in recognizing the relative strengths and weaknesses of different disciplinary approaches applied to pulmonary sciences, in designing interdisciplinary experiments effectively, and in interpreting interdisciplinary results critically.

The objectives of this course are to enhance and supplement knowledge of pathophysiology learned in the main course. This course will use critical reading to explore primary literature, and is especially intended for graduate students in the biological sciences. The course materials and discussions will provide a deeper understanding of the application and translation of basic pathophysiology, as found in current biomedical research.

Provides an introduction to ecological and epidemiological concepts basic to the control of infectious agents. Considers important parasitic diseases of particular significance in the developing areas of the world. Epidemiological principles of vector-associated diseases are elucidated through study of entities such as malaria and schistosomiasis.

The intersection of environment and health is by necessity an interdisciplinary focus. The most promising advances in lung biology and respiratory disease are resulting from teams of scientists with diverse disciplinary training, including biology, medicine, engineering, and physics. In addition to a strong foundation in a specific discipline, the ability to recognize and act upon opportunities presented by outside disciplines is a crucial skill. This course is designed to train scientists to approach lung biology and respiratory diseases with an interdisciplinary perspective, in particular by bridging the gap between life sciences and physical/engineering sciences. With a focus on laboratory sciences and on mechanistic levels of understanding, course materials will cover 3 main problem areas: asthma, air pollution, and lung infection. The course consists of weekly course-meetings (lectures and case-studies) plus weekly research seminars from the physiology program. Students will gain skills in recognizing the relative strengths and weaknesses of different disciplinary approaches applied to pulmonary sciences, in designing interdisciplinary experiments effectively, and in interpreting interdisciplinary results critically.

This is a comprehensive survey course on tuberculosis featuring lectures by some of the leading authorities in the field. The first half of the course focuses on population issues (TB epidemiology in the US and the world), transmission, modeling, and programmatic issues (the essentials of good TB control both here and in high burden countries). The second month deals more with the biomedical aspects of TB, immunology, genetics, diagnosis, decision analysis, and treatment, again, both here and abroad. There is a field trip to the Massachusetts State Laboratory. Because of involvement of several of the faculty, special attention is paid to the global problem of multidrug resistant TB, and the work of Partners in Health, an NGO associated with the medical school. During the second month, medical students join the SPH students for an elective course involving patient interviews at the state TB hospital. They present these cases and related topics in class during the second month. SPH students are evaluated on the basis of class participation and one or more presentations on relevant TB topics of interest. The course ends on or near World TB Day, with optional TB-related activities in the Boston area.

This course will offer students a deeper understanding of molecular signals often termed, as "Biomarkers" that serve as highly useful tools for understanding the biology of the disease as well as nature and extent of human exposure from environmental contaminants and drugs. The course is divided in 4 modules: 1) Biomarker discovery, 2) Organ/Disease specific biomarkers, 3) Multiscale technologies for biomarker quantitation, and 4) Clinical and statistical considerations in biomarker research.

This course will focus on the metabolic reprogramming of cells as they undergo the transformation from normal to cancer cells. Emphasis will be placed on the unique nutrient and energy demands of growing tumors, the molecular mechanisms by which oncogenic signaling pathways alter cellular metabolism, and therapeutic opportunities arising from the profound differences in the metabolism of normal versus tumor cells. This course consists of one lecture and one session of critical reading of current primary literature related to the lecture each week.

We will explore molecular mechanisms underlying aging and aging-related disease. Topics will include nutrient signaling and energy metabolism, genome stability and proteostasis, interventional approaches to extended longevity, and theories of aging including the free radical theory. Recent and classic literature will be critically discussed.

This course will focus on medically important eukaryotic parasites (including malaria, toxoplasma, leishmania, trypanosomes, amoebae, and giardia). We will examine central themes in the pathogenesis of infectious diseases. Critical readings and discussions will emphasize biochemistry, cell and molecular biology of host-pathogen interactions during the establishment and maintenance of infection in hosts and host cells. To the extent to which it is possible, infection strategies of protozoan parasites will be compared and contrasted to those of bacterial and viral pathogens in hosts and host cells.

The available information on molecular and cellular basis of innate immune responses has exploded in the last decade. In particular de role of Toll-Like receptors, inflammasomes and nucleic acid-sensing cytoplasmatic receptors on resistance to and pathogenesis of infectious diseases have been scrutinized. The main focus of the course will be on the interface of the innate and acquired immune system with microbial pathogens, discussing the role that these interactions play in protective versus deleterious immune responses, and thereby, on disease outcome. The program will promote discussions on fundamental concepts as well as new advances in the role of innate immunity in host resistance and pathogenesis of infectious diseases, with special emphasis on infections of the tropics. Each lecture requires reading several relevant papers and completion of a problem set. A final paper, in the format of a research proposal, is required.

The course will provide an introduction to the biology, genetics and control of insect vectors of infectious diseases that are relevant for Public Health. The focus will be on the mosquito vectors of human malaria, however students will study other vector-borne diseases including African Trypanosomiasis, Dengue and Yellow Fever. The course will address the major biological components shaping vectorial capacity: vector/parasite interactions; immunity; host seeking behavior, reproduction; chemoreception. The role of symbionts and microbiota in insect physiology and disease transmission will also be discussed. Strengths and limitations of current control strategies based on the use of insecticides (bednets and sprays), traps, larvicidal compounds, biological agents and environmental strategies will be discussed, as well as novel strategies based on genetically modified organisms and paratransgenic control (bacteria/fungi). Students will also learn current methods for functional and comparative genomics of principal disease vectors.