Immune Evasion: How Sneaky Pathogens Avoid Host Surveillance, Spring 2004

Abstract:: This course is an advanced undergraduate seminar based upon discussions and critical analysis of primary literature in the field of immunology. Every infection consists of a battle between the invading pathogen and the resisting host. To be successful, a pathogen must escape the many defenses of the host immune system until it can replicate and spread to another host. A pathogen must prevent one of three stages of immune function: detection, activation, or effector function. Examples of disease specific immune evasion and the mechanisms used by pathogens to prevail over their host's immune systems are discussed. What these host-pathogen interactions reveal about the normal function of the immune system and about basic cell biological processes, such as protein maturation and degradation, are also considered.

Marine Organic Geochemistry, Spring 2005

Abstract:: Provides an understanding of the distribution of organic carbon (OC) in marine sediments from a global and molecular-level perspective. Surveys the mineralization and preservation of OC in the water column and within anoxic and oxic marine sediments. Topics include: OC composition, reactivity and budgets within, and fluxes through, major reservoirs; microbial recycling pathways for OC; models for OC degradation and preservation; role of anoxia in OC burial; relationships between dissolved and particulate (sinking and suspended) OC; methods for characterization of sedimentary organic matter; application of biological markers as tools in oceanography. Both structural and isotopic aspects are covered.