The Human Microbiome in Health and Disease

In this course we will study the microbes that live on and in humans, with particular emphasis on their contributions to both health and disease. We will focus on reports from scientific literature of the acquisition and maintenance of the microbiome, the interactions of the microbiome with the immune system, and the influence of the microbiome on a variety of diseases. Students will learn about the strengths and weaknesses of different techniques used to study the microbiome and how to critically evaluate the latest findings. (BIOL0140 or 0145).