This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

PSC3311 - Microbiology and immunology

6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Coordinator(s)

Dr Sab Ventura

Offered

Parkville

First semester 2016 (Day)

Synopsis

To introduce 3rd year pharmaceutical science students to essential elements of microbiology and immunology. In the process, students will develop their abilities to integrate microbiological and immunological concepts and apply these to a limited number of applications contained within the unit and as a basis for later work in other subjects within the pharmaceutical sciences.

This will involve the study of:

bacteria (general principles and microbial genetics)
eukaryotic microbes
virology
epidemiology
immunology
microbiological diseases (diseases and host responses)

Outcomes

At the end of this unit students will be able to:

demonstrate fundamental concepts in microbiology and associated immunology including basic technologies, classification of microorganisms, principles of microbial genetics, and immunological processes;
evaluate and differentiate basic microbiological laboratory techniques and how to apply these to the identification of different types of pathogenic microorganisms;
demonstrate an appreciation of factors involved in contamination control and control of infectious diseases;
illustrate the ecological role of microorganisms and analyse interactions between microorganisms and the host including interactions with humans and the principles of immunology and epidemiology.

Assessment

Final exam (2 hour): 60%; mid-semester test: 10%; on-going practicals and assignments: 30%.

Workload requirements

Twenty-six 1 hour lectures
One 1-hour mid-semester test
Four 3-hour practicals/workshops
Thirty-eight hours of directed independent study/active learning

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Sab Ventura

Prerequisites

PSC2012 Molecular pharmacology
PSC2322 Molecular cell biology
PSC3321 Disease focused pharmacology.