C168, C268 - Molecular
Parasitology
Fall Quarter, 2007
Description of course:
This course merges classical and modern parasitology.
Molecular parasitology will be useful to both pre-medical students and
those interested in basic problems in molecular and cell biology. In addition to their
biomedical interest, the protozoal
parasites present excellent model systems for the analysis of basic biological
phenomena such as gene regulation, molecular development, cell-cell
interactions, molecular evolution, and novel biochemical pathways. A short list
of the novel biological phenomena in protozoal parasites
includes trans-splicing, lipid anchors of membrane proteins, RNA editing,
regulation of expression mechanisms for drug resistance, description and
analysis of the hydrogenosome, and the regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis
during the parasite life cycle.
There is no hard copy textbook for this course. Pdf files of all
lectures will be posted, and for some lectures original research papers
will be utilized.
In addition, almost all lecture material can be found in much more depth in the "Online Course
in Molecular Parasitology".
There
is a 168 Private Portal for this course (for Dr. Simpson's
lectures). You can ask questions to the TAs and Prof.
10-9 - The
Private Portal is active. I have entered all students as
users. Your username is "last name + first letter of first
name". Students with identical last names have "last name +
first two letters of first name". Let me know if you have any
problem logging on. It is possible that some students are not
enrolled. I will tell you the password in class.
Lectures:
Tuesday and Thursday, 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM, Franz 1260
Discussion Sections:
You must be
enrolled in a Discussion Section to be enrolled in the course.
The
Discussion Sections begin the week of October 1.
Kestrel Rogers (Sections
1E and 1F, Office hrs Thursday 3-5 PM in 6740 MRL),
Bob Hitchcock (Sections 1C
and 1D, Office hrs Thursday, 2-4 PM) and Kevin Hu (Sections
1A and 1B, Office hrs Monday 10-12 in Young Hall 3340) are the TAs.
The TAs will hand out PE's in
the first Discussion Sessions.
Office hours: Dr. Simpson
(6780 MRL,
simpson@kdna.ucla.edu) - Wednesday 11 AM - 12 noon and 3-4 PM.
Dr.
Johnson (4610C MSB,
johnsonp@ucla.edu) - Friday 3 - 5 PM.
Graduate students taking this course are
required to write a 3-4 page term paper on a subject discussed in the
class, in addition to taking the exams. Honors projects can also be
done.
Exams: There are two non-cumulative exams
which each count 400 points. The Discussion
Section grade is
200 points. Total = 1,000 points.
Lecture Schedule
(Calendar)
(Dr. Simpson Sept. 27 - Oct. 30; Dr. Johnson,
Nov. 5 - Dec. 6)
Sept. 27 - Introduction
to Protozoa and Parasites (pdf)
(What is a Scientific
paradigm)
("Who
am I?" - an essay on symbiosis)
("Death
of the Ologies" - an essay on Universities and modern
science)
Oct. 2 - Chagas Disease:
Trypanosoma cruzi - Epidemiology and Pathogenesis
(pdf)
(Traveling
in South America and Chagas Disease)
(Eradication
of tsetse flies - from Katherine Ng)
Oct. 4 - African Trypanosomiasis:
Epidemiology and Life
Cycle of Trypanosoma brucei
(pdf)
(PDF
file of Chapter from New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish
Grandmothers by Desowitz)
Oct. 9 - African Trypanosomiasis:
Pathogenesis and Gene Expression
(web
file) (pdf)
Oct. 11 - Leishmaniasis :
Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Parasite Surface and Virulence Factors
(pdf)
(recent
mini-review on Leishmaniasis)
(Visceral
leishmaniasis: a trip to the Greek Islands is not always
idyllic)
Oct. 16 - The
TriTryp Genomes (pdf)
Oct. 18 -
Kinetoplast DNA
(pdf)
(Personal
histories of some extant parasitologists)
Oct. 23 -
RNA Editing
(pdf)
(A
review of RNA editing)
(Paper
on evolution of editing)
Oct. 25 -
World of Small RNAs: RNA
interference, micro RNAs, snoRNAs
(pdf)
Oct. 30 -
First Exam (Histogram of points spread)
(Questions with key are on Forums)
(What
is Science and Why do we do It?)
Dr.
Johnson's lectures -
web site
Dec. 10- Second Exam
3-6 PM
Some useful web links:
