نظرة عامة على البرنامج

BMS524 Advanced Virology

This advanced virology subject will allow students to further investigate the biology and pathogenesis of medically important viruses at the cellular and molecular level. The subject will also study how viruses can be used in the biotechnology industry and gene-based therapeutic approaches to treat disease. The subject will also focus on the technology used in the modern diagnostic virology laboratory and recent advances in pathogen detection and disease epidemiology. The subject will also study viruses from a public health perspective, including preventing transmission and control of disease outbreaks, including vaccination and pharmacological intervention strategies.

Availability

The subject is available in Session 1, with 30 students, and is offered online and at the Wagga Wagga Campus.

Subject Information

Grading System

The grading system for this subject is HD/FL.

Duration

The subject is one session in duration.

School

The subject is offered by the School of Biomedical Sciences.

Assumed Knowledge

Students are assumed to have undergraduate microbiology knowledge.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this subject, students should:

• Be able to comprehensively explain in detail how virus structure and replication relates to the pathogenesis of medically important viruses
• Be able to explain the design of and use of appropriate molecular techniques for the diagnosis of viral disease
• Be able to integrate data from phylogenetic analysis of viral evolution and its application to epidemiology of disease outbreaks
• Be able to explain the rationale of current anti-viral treatment strategies with particular reference to immunodeficiency viruses
• Be able to critically evaluate how principles of virology and virus replication can be applied to development of new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic techniques
• Be able to describe the pathology of virus infections with particular reference to immunodeficiency diseases, latent and reactivation diseases, malignancies, and development of new drugs and vaccines for their treatment
• Be able to critically interpret the safety issues associated with the use of viruses for gene therapy
• Be able to critically evaluate recent published data relating to research in virology

Syllabus

This subject will cover the following topics:

• Viral classification, nomenclature, taxonomy
• Viral strategies for attachment and entry
• Viral strategies for replication, using as examples: herpes, pox, picorna-, orthomyxo-, reo- and retroviruses
• Viral strategies for pathogenesis and immune evasion
• Viral latency: epidemic and endemic persistence in populations
• Viral evolution, as seen in influenza, HIV
• Immune responses to viral infection, vaccination, and antivirals
• Detection of viruses
• Prion Diseases
• Virology and Public Health
• Medically important viruses, including viruses and cancer, HIV/AIDS
• Sexually transmitted viruses
• Viruses as gene delivery vectors