Molecular and Translational Approaches to Human Disease

Catalog description

This course teaches students the scientific process used to understand the molecular bases of diseases and the development of novel therapies. BMS 581 Molecular and Translational Approaches to Human Disease (3) The course utilizes clinically relevant diseases as specific examples of applying an integrated approach to elucidate a mechanistic understanding of disease pathophysiology and the development of novel therapies. Over the 15-week period of the course the students study five specific diseases or complications of diseases, each over a 3-week period. The diseases used represent areas of high impact on Western society or ones in which specific principles of mechanistic understanding or therapeutic development are clearly illustrated. The diseases also represent strengths of the research at the Penn State Hershey such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and infection and inflammation. The instructors use primary literature to demonstrate the scientific approach used to test specific hypotheses related to disease mechanism. At the end of the 3-week period, the students use team-based learning to develop experimental approaches to study novel aspects of the disease pathology or therapeutic development.