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Curricular information is subject to change
This module is designed to enable students to comprehend and appreciate the technologies underpinning precision medicine. They will also gain an appreciation of the challenges and opportunities that the genomics era can offer to the study of infectious disease. Through guided examples, students will gain an early understanding of how these new tools can be applied to the management and applied control of local and global infections/outbreaks.
Students will learn:
1. The technical concepts underpinning genome based approaches to diagnosis of infectious disease;
2. To interpret genome based diagnostic data for viral infectious pathogens (such as HIV-1; influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2, among others);
3. How metagenomics can be applied to syndromic investigation in patients;
4. The genomic tools required to investigate and describe the epidemiology of an outbreak of infectious disease
5. The power of precision epidemiology in understanding outbreak dynamics
6. An understanding of precision food safety;
7. To recognise and understand the application of phylogenetic analysis to bacterial and viral genomic sequences;
8. To critique of relevant scientific literature
1. Introduction to precision medicine and infectious disease
2. Interpretation of genome-based molecular diagnostics
3. Metagenomics and its application to pathogen detection
4. Metagenomics and pathogen detection –experimental design
5. Impact of WGS on global Influenza Vaccination Programme
6. Ebola and other emerging infectious diseases – application of genomics in preparedness
7. Application of genomics to control of SARS-CoV-2 epidemic
8. Application of genomics to precision food safety
9. Microbiome and human health
10. Introduction to the phylogenetic analysis of infectious pathogens
11. Critical evaluation of relevant scientific literature
Student Effort Type | Hours |
---|---|
Lectures | 24 |
Seminar (or Webinar) | 5 |
Specified Learning Activities | 9 |
Autonomous Student Learning | 82 |
Total | 120 |
Not applicable to this module.
Description | Timing | Component Scale | % of Final Grade | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Assignment: Identify the presence of potentially harmful bacteria in datasets from environmental samples by using available bioinformatics tools and propose next steps to confirm the risk and ameliorate it | Coursework (End of Trimester) | n/a | Graded | No | 100 |
Resit In | Terminal Exam |
---|---|
Summer | No |
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
There will be an opportunity for students to get individual feedback on their graded assignment post assessment either by email or face to face.
Name | Role |
---|---|
Dr Michael Carr | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
Dr Cillian F De Gascun | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
Professor Séamus Fanning | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
Dr Gabo Gonzalez | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
Mr Jonathan Dean | Tutor |
Dr Guerrino Macori | Tutor |
Dr Joanne O'Gorman | Tutor |