120.603.01 MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF PANDEMIC INFLUENZA

Explores how molecular biology has been used to define the biological basis of a public health catastrophe, the 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic. Students examine the biological basis of the virulence of more recent influenza viruses. Topics include: use of molecular techniques to resurrect the extinct 1918 pandemic virus, the use of molecular techniques to identify why specific mutations in the genome made the 1918 virus so virulent, the use of sequence analysis to identify the origin of new strains of influenza virus, and the analysis of the immune response of an infected host to the 1918 virus. Students also examine the molecular biology of the more recent H1N1 pandemic and the H5N1 bird flu viruses. Students discuss ethical and policy issues that must be considered in managing the response to a pandemic.

Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to: 1. Apply modern molecular biology techniques to the evaluation of an influenza outbreak and to understand how to interpret data generated by these techniques. 2. Describe how these data can be used to direct public health policy. 3. Read and present original papers in this area.