Unit 1: Host-Pathogen Interactions: Immune Evasion, Intracellular Survival, and Signaling
Pathogenic microbes and their interactions with the host immune system. Molecular and cellular strategies pathogens use to evade host defenses, including antigenic variation, inhibition of phagocytosis, complement evasion, and manipulation of cytokine responses, epigenetic modifications. How Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Salmonella, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Aspergillus sps, Candida and viruses like HIV manipulate host signaling pathways (e.g., NF-κB, MAPK, JAK-STAT) to favor their survival and replication. Topics also include pathogen-induced modulation of programmed cell death pathways (e.g., apoptosis, pyroptosis), and the host’s use of pattern recognition receptors (e.g., TLRs, NLRs) to detect and respond to infection. Host-directed therapies and other emerging therapies for control of pathogens.
Unit 2: Human Microbiome and Symbiotic Interactions
Composition, diversity, and functional roles of the human microbiome across various body sites such as the gut, skin, oral cavity, and urogenital tract. Dynamic relationships between the host and commensal microbes, including mechanisms of colonization resistance, nutrient exchange, and modulation of the immune system. Influence of microbiota on host metabolism, development, and disease susceptibility, including the effects of antibiotics, diet, and probiotics on microbial communities.
Unit 3: Microbial Dysbiosis and Disease: From Inflammation to Therapeutics
Microbiome dysbiosis, and its association with various diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), obesity, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer. Methods for analyzing microbial communities (e.g., 16S rRNA sequencing, metagenomics) and development of microbiome-based diagnostics and therapeutics, including fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), precision probiotics, and phage therapy. Case studies on how microbial manipulation can restore health or serve as adjuvants in immunotherapy.