Learn how viruses cause disease in this online course

Columbia University is offering an online course called "How Viruses Cause Disease." This 12 weeks long course will commence from January 9th 2014.

About the Course:

This introductory virology course explores the interplay between viruses and their host organisms. The course begins with an overview of how infection is established in a host, then moves to a virologist's view of immune defenses. Next the course considers how the replication strategy and the host response determine the outcome of infection, such that some are short and others are of long duration. The mechanisms by which virus infections transform cells in culture are explored, a process that may lead to tumor formation in animals. Then the course moves to a discussion of how viral infections are controlled by vaccines and antiviral drugs. After an introduction to viral evolution, the course discusses the principles learned from zoonotic infections, emerging infections, and humankind's experiences with epidemic and pandemic viral infections. The course ends with an exploration of unusual infectious agents such as viroids, satellites, and prions, followed by a discussion of the causative agent of the most serious current worldwide epidemic, HIV-1.

Vincent Racaniello will be the course instructor. The course will have a workload of 3-4 hours/week. It will be taught in English and the subtitles will be available in English.

Click here for further details.