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Tropical Medicine

TRMD 605 MEDICAL HELMINTHOLOGY (3)
Professor Brindley.
The study of parasitic worms with special reference to those causing human disease. In lecture and laboratory, the student is acquainted with the different groups of helminths, their zoological classification, structural characteristics, life cycles, geographic distribution, methods of transmission, reservoir hosts, location, and tissue damage produced in the human body; host's immunologic responses; laboratory diagnosis and methods of treatment and control.

TRMD 606 MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY (3)
Professor Wesson.
Designed to provide the fundamental information necessary for understanding the role of arthropods in the transmission of pathogens causing human disease. Following a brief review of the general anatomy, physiology, and classification of arthropods, individual groups of medical importance are considered in detail in regard to the recognition of important species, the epidemiology and pathogenesis of associated diseases, and the principles and methods of vector control. Lectures, demonstrations, and laboratory exercises.

TRMD 607 MEDICAL PROTOZOOLOGY (3)
Professor Wiser. Prerequisite: Undergraduate biology course.
The basic biology of protozoa capable of infecting humans as well as the clinical manifestations of the diseases they cause will be covered. Topics covered will include life cycles, morphological features, host-parasite interactions, geographical distribution, reservoir hosts, methods of transmission and control, pathology, immunological aspects, and laboratory and clinical diagnosis. Laboratory exercises will focus upon the identification and recognition of parasitic protozoa. The biological and clinical perspectives gained in this course will assist students in the practical recognition, evaluation, and management of problems in public health or clinical practice involving protozoa that infect humans.

TRMD 608 MEDICAL PROTOZOOLOGY LABORATORY (1)
Professor Wiser.
This course provides students with training in the use of a microscope and the identification of medically important protozoa in fecal, blood, tissue, and other specimens. Laboratory exercises will focus upon the detection and recognition of parasitic protozoa in prepared samples. Students will learn how to distinguish the various protozoa which infect humans and be able to identify protozoa in clinical and histological preparations.

TRMD 617 IMMUNOLOGY (3)
Professor James.
Designed for students of medicine and allied health fields with the aim of providing information necessary for understanding the immune system. Following a comprehensive consideration of both cellular and humoral immunity and the complement system, attention is given to the role of the immune system in resistance to infection and the pathogenesis of disease.

TRMD 623 METHODS IN CELL BIOLOGY (3)
Professor Wiser.
This course provides students with an introduction and broad overview to the basic biochemical, molecular and immunological techniques that are commonly used in biomedical research. Topics covered include: analysis and characterization of macromolecules, recombinant DNA, and immunological assays. The theory behind the various techniques, practical applications, and the general procedures for carrying them out will be described.

TRMD 631 CLINICAL TROPICAL MEDICINE (2)
Professor McLellan. Physicians, nurses, or senior medical students only.
This course provides a substantial introduction to the major diseases of tropical and developing countries. Emphasis is placed on important parasitic diseases, gastroenteritis, and vaccine preventable diseases. Course material focuses on the etiology, pathogenesis, symptomatology, diagnosis, and treatment of these diseases; epidemiological characteristics, control methods, and current research directions are also described. Lectures feature recognized authorities with firsthand experience in the tropics.

TRMD 632 PREVENTIVE TROPICAL MEDICINE (2)
Professor Oberhelman.
This course presents the basic principles of preventive medicine in the context of the special environment (physical, biological, and social) of tropical developing countries. Emphasis is placed upon the prevention and control of infectious diseases of major public health importance. Vaccine preventable diseases are given special emphasis. In addition to presenting concepts and theoretical methods of disease control, detailed examples of actual programs are provided.

TRMD 633 MICROBIAL DISEASES OF THE TROPICS (2)
Professor Oberhelman and faculty.
This course introduces students to the most important bacterial, viral, and mycotic pathogens in the tropics and to clinical features of the associated diseases. The course will focus on topics not ordinarily covered in depth in U.S. medical schools, such as cholera, tuberculosis, leprosy, arboviral infections, and hemorrhagic fevers, among others. The course will be team taught by both microbiologists and clinicians. Topics covered will include geographic distribution, transmission, pathogenesis, clinical features of relevant diseases, immunologic considerations, laboratory diagnosis, treatment, and control.

TRMD 634 DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY METHODS IN MICROBIOLOGY (1)
Professor Silio. Physicians, nurses, or senior medical students only.
This laboratory course parallels topics presented in TRMD 633. The course is designed to teach students how to perform basic laboratory tests using simple techniques applicable to developing countries. Most of these will be diagnostic tests for infectious diseases, although some clinically relevant non-diagnostic techniques will also be taught (e.g., complete blood counts). The bulk of the course consists of hands-on laboratory experience conducting laboratory tests with clinical specimens and analyzing prepared teaching specimens. Procedures for organism isolation and identification and rapid diagnostic kits will be covered.

TRMD 635 DISEASE CONTROL IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (2)
Professor Oberhelman. Medical professionals only.
This course is designed for students enrolled in the diploma in tropical medicine and traveler's health program to prepare them to recognize and contribute effectively to the public health needs of communities in developing countries. It includes four broad content areas: concepts of disease prevention and control with special reference to developing countries; assessment of community needs, and provision of basic preventive services; control of important endemic diseases such as malaria, schistosomiasis, and cholera; and other topics such as outbreak investigation, disaster/refugee health programs, and sources of information, and other support from local and international organizations. The course will stress practical and local rather than theoretical and global considerations based on the needs of the practitioner working under relatively isolated conditions.

TRMD 636 CLINICAL TROPICAL MEDICINE CASE PRESENTATIONS (1)
Professor Silio. Medical professionals only.
Students and faculty present actual cases in tropical medicine, concentrating on differential diagnosis and case management. Cases will first be discussed based on history and physical exam alone (no lab data), followed by additional discussion of laboratory results. Subjects covered in case presentations include acute diarrhea, fevers, anemia, malnutrition, respiratory distress, and altered mental status.

TRMD 642 TROPICAL VIROLOGY (3)
Faculty.
This course covers the broad area of virology with an emphasis on viruses of public health concern in developing and tropical countries. Both historically problematic and emerging viruses are covered. Topics include the molecular biology, epidemiology, and pathology of selected viruses. Focus is placed on developing an understanding of the molecular aspects of the viral life cycle that give rise to transmission and pathogenic characteristics, especially in the context of the co-evolution of the virus and host. Additional topics include the interactions between the virus and host immune response, as well as viral control and the development of vaccines and anti-viral pharmaceuticals.

TRMD 680 EMERGING PATHOGENS (2)
Professor Wesson. Prerequisite: CHSC 601, ENHS 602, ENHS 629, HSMG 606, HSMG 607, or TRMD 601.
This course provides students with an introduction to the factors involved in the emergence of pathogens causing human disease. Following a general overview of these factors, specific pathogens are examined with regard to historical and current relevance, emergence factors, surveillance, and control. Associated topics such as containment of research organisms, xenotransplantation, and bioterrorism are also considered.

TRMD 700 TROPICAL MEDICINE SEMINAR (1,1)
Professor McLellan. Prerequisite: Clinical background.
This seminar experience for MSPH students (TRMD 702) and MPH&TM students (TRMD 700) is intended to simulate a critical reading of the current literature and to ensure that each student learns to present important and potentially controversial data in a rigorous and careful fashion. Focuses on applied clinical tropical medicine rather than laboratory-based research.

TRMD 702 PARASITOLOGY SEMINAR (1,1)
Professor Brindley.
The seminar experience for MSPH students (TRMD 702) and MPH&TM students (TRMD 700) is intended to stimulate a critical reading of the current literature and to ensure that each student learns to present important and potentially controversial data in a rigorous and careful fashion.

TRMD 703 CAPSTONE COURSE, MPH&TM PROGRAM (1)
Professor Oberhelman and faculty. Only open to MPH&TM students in final semester.
The Capstone course provides an opportunity for students to integrate knowledge from tropical medicine courses and other public health courses to design a proposal or national plan of action (NPA). Proposals for NPAs will be developed in groups and will address either basic problems in tropical medicine or disease control strategies for a particular region. Students work closely with faculty advisors and present their work at the end of the semester as a Capstone seminar with a written report. The course provides practical experience in study design and presentation by simulating the steps necessary to propose and perform a successful project in either basic or applied tropical medicine.

TRMD 708 PARASITOLOGIC METHODS (2)
Faculty. Prerequisites: TRMD 605, 607.
Provides the student with training in the diagnostic techniques and research methods of medical parasitology. In lectures, demonstrations, and laboratory exercises, emphasis is given to the principles and detailed procedures employed in the routine examination of fecal, blood, tissue, and other specimens in a medical parasitology laboratory, in serodiagnosis, and in entomologic field studies.

TRMD 718 IMMUNOPARASITOLOGY (2)
Professor James. Prerequisite: TRMD 617.
Designed to provide students of medicine, the basic sciences and public health with an understanding of the role of immunity to parasitic infections. Special emphasis will be placed on current knowledge of mechanisms of immunity to protozoal and helminth infections that cause malaria, trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, and filariasis, some of the most widespread and debilitating diseases still plaguing the world. Additional topics may be covered according to student needs and trends in the field.

TRMD 780 ADVANCED MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY (2)
Faculty. Prerequisite: TRMD 606.
This is an advanced level course that emphasizes relationships between arthropods and the pathogens they transmit. Lectures and weekly readings from the primary literature will focus on aspects of vector-pathogeninteractions and ideas at the forefront of research to better understand the ecology and epidemiology of pathogen transmission. Designed for biologists and health professionals who will be involved with U.S. and international agencies responsible for tropical medicine research and disease control.

TRMD 782 MALARIA (2)
Professor Krogstad. Prerequisite: TRMD 607. 
This is an advanced course which provides a rigorous approach to the basic and applied issues related to malaria. Areas covered in detail include malaria epidemiology and control strategies, parasite-vector relationships, vector control, cell biology, and biochemistry of the parasite red cell interaction, drug action and resistance mechanisms, parasite genetics and cell biology, and the immunologic aspects of malaria, including asexual and sexual stage candidate vaccine antigens. At the conclusion of the semester, students are expected to critically review current strategies and suggest and defend appropriate alternatives.

TRMD 796 PREVENTIVE MEDICINE RESIDENCY (0)
Third year/practicum.

TRMD 799 INDEPENDENT STUDY (1-5)