Critical analysis of current research areas in microbiology and related fields. Central topics will be covered seriatim by the staff. Students will present in rotation their analyses of pertinent scientific literature. Two conference hours per week.

This course examines the molecular basis of cancer and how environmental and hereditary factors cooperate to elicit the transformed phenotype and promote cancer progression. It is team taught by both basic scientists and clinical faculty, providing students with an introduction to clinical presentation, progression, and outcomes; genetic/cellular/tissue drivers of oncogenesis and metastasis; and therapeutic challenges for the treatment of cancer

This course will cover contemporary topics relevant to the detection and treatment of solid tumors and hematopoietic cancers. These include, but are not limited to, clinical trials, metabolism and cancer, cancer stem cells, cancer biomarkers, systems and networks in cancer. Students will attend organ-based tumor boards, which expose the students to the team-based approach for individualizing treatments that is practiced in the UVA Cancer Center. Prerequisite: MICR 8040 and MICR 8044.

This course builds on MICR8040, Fundamentals in Cancer, to expand your understanding of the molecular basis of cancer. This course will expose you to non-tumor cell autonomous drivers of cancer in addition to continuing to further develop your knowledge of major contributors to cancer.  Topics will include cancer cell metabolism, hormone receptor signaling, tumor angiogenesis, the plethora of cells in the tumor microenvironment, and metastasis.

This module will cover the different components of the adaptive and innate arms of the immune system with a focus on development and molecular pathways regulating these processes. Prerequisite: Previous Immunology class or permission of the instructor

This module will cover how the diverse components of the immune system are integrated and how this integration influences further maturation and differentiation of elements of the immune system under physiological and patho-physiological conditions. This will include responses to different types of pathogens. Prerequisite: Building Blocks of the Immune System

The module will cover in depth selected contemporary topics in molecular and cellular immunology. Sessions are discussion-based and facilitated by faculty. Students will learn how to critically evaluate primary literature and to clearly present scientific information. Prerequisite: MICR 8200: Building Blocks of the Immune System and MICR 8202: Integration and Diversification of the Immune System or instructor permission.

This foundational module will cover fundamentals of the biology of bacteria and viruses. Bacteriology topics to be discussed include bacterial physiology, genetics, and gene regulation, and how these and other features impact drug discovery and pathogenesis. Virology topics to be discussed include virus structure and assembly, viral replication, viral genetic regulation, virus/immune interactions, and applications of viruses in 21st century.

The class provides a comprehensive study of pathogenic microbes and their unique and conserved mechanisms of virulence.Prerequisite: Core Course and Molecular Principles of Bacteriology and Virology

This course will discuss the grant process including applications for federal and foundation grants, proposal writing and submissions, and grant reviews. A research proposal (based loosely on guidelines for NIH postdoctoral fellowship grant application) on a selected topic in Microbial Pathogenesis will be developed by each student (or student teams).Prerequisite: MICR 8400 and MICR 8401. Please contact course director Isabelle Derre (id8m@virginia.edu) to discuss potential exemptions.

This module will cover in depth selected advanced contemporary topics in virology. This year's focus will be the current topics on virus-host cell interactions. Sessions will be based on published primary literature and will be discussions facilitated by the faculty. Students will learn how to critically evaluate the primary literature and to clearly present scientific information. Prerequisite: MICR 8400 and instructor permission.

For doctoral dissertation, taken under the supervision of a dissertation director.