NOT OFFFERED IN 2024.

Please check back in 2025.

Syllabus Room 5-134 Tues/Thurs 9:30-11a

If bacteria evolve so quickly, why doesn't antibiotic resistance evolve in every infection?
To what extent can we predict evolution?
How does bacterial evolution interplay with ecology/microbiomes?
How do bacteria avoid our evolving (adaptive) immune systems?
What methods are used to analyze microbial genomes?
What are the strengths and limitations of genomic surveillance?

Description: Provides a thorough introduction to the forces driving microbial evolution, practical experience with bioinformatics and computational tools, and discussions of topics relevant to public health today. Topics include mechanisms of genome variation in bacteria and viruses, population genetics, outbreak detection and tracking, strategies to impede the evolution of drug resistance, emergence of new disease, and microbiomes and metagenomics. Includes discussion of primary literature and computational assignments.

Prerequisites: Biology (GIR), 1.000 or 6.0001 (some programming), or permission of instructor. As this class touches on multiple subjects, experience with either probability (18.05 or similar) or genetics (7.03 or similar) can be helpful but is not required. Jargon will be avoided, and background will be provided on foundational topics.

Note: Psets shown are examples only and will be updated for Spring 2024.