Course Description
This course is an introduction for students to basic concepts and unifying principles of Microbiology, with strong emphasis on the roles of microbes as disease-causing agents. It provides general information on the biology of microorganisms, and the most relevant clinical aspects of infectious diseases, and the impact of microbes on the environment.

Course Goals and Methodology
The goals of this course are to provide the student with an understanding of basic bacterial laboratory techniques and the general concepts in Microbiology, as well as inform about the general practices used to identify and treat the most common infectious agents. The course is oriented towards the clinical aspects of Microbiology, but does introduce significant discoveries to convey important topics. The labs are designed to familiarize students with aseptic methods of microbiological techniques and with their applications in clinical and environmental Microbiology.

The course is structured in lecture and lab sessions. Prior to each session, students are expected to have read the textbook chapters and lab protocols before the corresponding lectures and labs. Powerpoint presentations, lab protocols and other course materials will be posted on Blackboard at least one day prior to the lectures and labs.
Lecture sessions will include lecturing and discussion. Homework assignments will include online quizzes for the contents of the lectures to be posted on Blackboard.
Lab sessions will include the discussion of the results from the previous session, presentation of the experimental procedures and experimental work. General lab safety rules must be kept at all times. A quiz per 2-3 lab sessions will be posted on Blackboard.

Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of the course students will be able to:
1. Define basic structure/function of microorganisms, with emphasis on their relationships to human disease and treatment of such disease.
2. Identify bacterial/fungal toxic and invasive factors and their relationship to disease.
3. Describe the clinical manifestations associated with common bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic diseases.
4. Classify the mechanisms of antibiotic (antibacterial/antifungal) and antiviral activity, as well as resistance strategies employed by target microorganisms.
5. Successfully use basic bacteriological skills in a laboratory or clinical setting.

Course contents
Content units (lectures)
1. Main themes of Microbiology
2. Methods for studying microorganisms
3. The Bacteria and Archaea
4. Eukaryotic cells and microorganisms
5. An introduction to the viruses
6. Microbial nutrition, ecology and growth
7. Microbial metabolism
8. Microbial genetics
9. Physical and chemical control of microbes
10. Elements of chemotherapy
11. Microbe-human interactions
12. Host defenses I: non-specific defenses
13. Host defenses II: specific immunity and immunization
14. Infectious diseases affecting the skin and eyes
15. Infectious diseases affecting nervous system
16. Infectious diseases affecting the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems
17. Infectious diseases affecting the respiratory system
18. Infectious diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract
19. Infectious diseases affecting the genitourinary system

Content units (labs)
1. Hygiene and safety in the Microbiology lab
2. Microbiological methods (I)
3. Microbiological methods (II)
4. Microbiological methods (III)
5. Measuring microbial growth
6. Microbial genetics (I)
7. Microbial genetics (II)
8. Testing antimicrobial susceptibility
9. Identification of microorganism

*Course content subject to change