SYLLABUS
MB 718
Introductory Virology
| Instructor: | Tim Petty |
| Office: | 4602 Gardner Hall (South) |
| Phone: | 515-2393 |
| e-mail: | tim_petty@ncsu.edu |
| Office Hours: | By appointment |
This class meets MWF 10:15–11:05 a.m. in room WI 2112, or as specified in TRACS.
Prerequisites
Some background in basic biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology and genetics is all that is required to get the most out of this course. There are no specific prerequisite classes for graduate students. Advanced undergraduates must have completed MB 461 Introduction to Molecular Virology with grade A- or better.
Course Description and Objectives
The aim of this course is to introduce students to important principles of modern molecular virology. The general principles are briefly outlined in the background material provided. Students will be responsible for reviewing this material prior to the first lecture. Subsequently, lectures will illustrate and reiterate the basic principles using specific detailed case studies of individual viruses. During the course, students will: (1) gain an overview of important fundamental principles of virology; and, (2) study specific viruses and derive important paradigms of molecular virology.
Attendance Policy
This is a graduate level class and attendance will not be taken. However, material from all the lectures will be used in the exams, so regular attendance is strongly recommended!
Academic Integrity Policy
All students are expected to be familiar with and abide by the NC State University Code of Student Conduct. Academic dishonesty, such as cheating, plagiarism, or helping others to cheat or plagiarize will not be tolerated. All students are expected to abide by the NC State University academic integrity policy.
Disability Statement
Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with disabilities to ensure that their academic requirements can be met successfully. For information, students should contact Disability Services for Students, 1900 Student Health Center (phone 515-7653; TTY 515-8830).
Grading Policy
There will be two 50 minute exams before the end of the semester, one prior to Fall break (exam I) and one after (exam II), and a 2 hour final exam that is scheduled at the end of the semester. The exams will not include multiple-choice or long essay-type questions. A short answer or outline format will be used, and the questions will be designed to elicit answers which emphasize general principles of virology and include reference to specific illustrative examples discussed in the lectures. For the two exams before the end of the semester (I and II), students will be required to answer four questions from a choice of five. Each question will be worth twenty points. For the final exam, students will be required to answer eight questions from a choice of ten. Again, each question will be worth twenty points. All exams will be cumulative and students will be held responsible for all material covered in the lectures or provided as background in the course pack.
Letter grades for the course will be assigned as follows: 96-100% A+; 91-95% A; 86-90% A-; 81-85% B+; 76-80% B; 71-75% B-; 66-70% C+; 61-65% C; 56-60% C-; 51-55% D+; 46-50% D; 41-45% D-; <41% F. Overall grades will be calculated from the aggregate of the exams during the semester (I and II) and final exam grades. Each of the exams during the semester (I and II) will count for 25% of the overall grade, and the final exam will count for the remaining 50% of the overall grade.
Policies on Excused Absences, Scheduling Makeup Work, and Incomplete grades
Students who miss an exam will allowed to make up the missed work, at the mutual convenience of the student and the instructor, if they obtain prior permission from the instructor, or in the case of health-related absences they provide a valid doctor’s note after the fact. An incomplete (IN) grade will be given only in the case that a student who is eligible to make up missed work (as above) is unable to do so before the end of the semester in which the course is taught.
Course Texts
There is no required textbook for the course. However, for students who want their own reference book, I suggest "Fundamental Virology" (D.M. Knipe and P.M. Howley, Ed.s, 4th edn., Lippincott-Williams, ISBN 0-7817-1833-3). This text covers the majority (although not all) of the material used in the course. A useful reference text, which is available on reserve in the D.H. Hill Library, is; "Fields Virology" (D.M. Knipe and P.M. Howley, Ed.s, 4th edn., Lippincott-Williams). This is a detailed and relatively up-to-date animal/medical virology text.
Electronic Resources
There are a large number of Internet resources available to virologists. For interested students in MB 718, good places to begin are the World-Wide Web Virology Pages of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, or “All the Virology on the World-Wide Web” hosted by the Garry Laboratory at Tulane University School of Medicine.
Major Assignments
There will only be two pieces of assigned homework: (1) I will expect students to have reviewed the background material in the course pack (pages B.1-B.12) before the first lecture; and (2) I will assign a virus structure project during the lectures for the first case study. Neither of the homework assignments will be graded, but the material may be tested during any of the scheduled exams.
Fall 2004 Timetable: (edited highlights)
| Aug 18 |
Wed |
Introduction |
| Aug 20 |
Fri |
First Lecture |
| Sep 03 |
Fri |
No Class - poxvirus conference |
| Sep 06 |
Mon |
No Class - Labor Day Holiday |
| Sep 08 |
Wed |
No Class - poxvirus conference |
| Oct 06 |
Wed |
Mid-Term Exam I (10:15-11:05) |
| Oct 08 |
Fri |
No Class – Fall Break |
| Nov 12 |
Fri |
Mid-Term Exam II (10:15-11:05) |
| Nov 24 |
Wed |
No Class – Thanksgiving Holiday |
| Nov 26 |
Fri |
No Class – Thanksgiving Holiday |
| Dec 03 |
Fri |
Last Day of Class |
| Dec 08 |
Wed |
Final Exam (9:00-11:00) |
Lecture Outline
The background material (pages B.1-B.12), on the general principles of virology, covers the following topics:
What are viruses? Where are they found?
Virus structure.
Virus classification and nomenclature.
Interaction of viruses with cells.
Interaction of viruses with organisms.
Interaction of viruses with populations (epidemiology).
During the course there will be 38 lectures, which will cover the following case studies:
Picornaviruses.
Togaviruses.
Flaviviruses.
Coronaviruses.
Retroviruses.
Hepadnaviruses.
Polyomaviruses.
Poxviruses.
Herpesviruses.
Paramyxoviruses.
Rhabdoviruses.
Orthomyxoviruses.
Bunyaviruses.
Arenaviruses.