Programmes & Modules Handbook

During this module, students will become familiar with a number of important human pathogens and gain a detailed mechanistic undertanding of how these bacteria cause infection at the molecular level. Drawing on a range of state-of-the-art experimental and analytical approaches, including analysis of genome sequence data, students can expect to discover a more in depth approach to pathgen biology which is the molecular basis of bacterial infection. Through lectures, case studies and computer- and lab-based practical classes students will become familiar with the principles and practice of research addressing the molecular basis of bacterial infection and how this thriving area of science underpins a major our objective of discovering the next genertion of antibiotics. Students will thus gain an integrated view of the subject which will equip them for postgraduate ressearch in this area and for employment  as clinical scientists

By the end of the module the student should be able to:

• Describe the molecular mechanisms that bacteria use to cause disease, including the evolution, ecology, genetics and regulation of virulence;
• Outline the pathogenesis of selected bacterial infections;
• Explain the biogenesis of the bacterial cell envelope and its components, highlighting their roles in virulence and interactions with the metazoan immune system;
• Elucidate the mechanisms for targeting virulence-related proteins to and across the cell envelope, including the biogenesis and function of relevant multi-protein complexes;
• Understand the mode of action of current antibiotic treatments and what is being done to develop the next generation of antibiotics
• Describe the structure and evolution of bacterial genomes and the molecular genetics that contribute towards pathogenicity and virulence;
• Understand the concept of comparative bacterial genomics. How to perform BLAST searches, sequence alignments and other additional bioinformatic analysis (via EXPASY) to make predictions on bacterial gene function;
• Demonstrate a basic competence in the analysis of laboratory experiments relevant to bacterial pathogenesis.