Fundamentals of Parasitology

3 units

This course covers a variety of clinically relevant parasitic organisms and their importance to human disease. We will discuss in detail the interactions of parasites with the host immune response both in terms of mechanisms whereby the host resists infections by these organisms and also how these parasites circumvent the host's ability to eliminate them. Because so much of the clinical importance of parasites has to do with this interaction, we will also cover general aspects of the workings of the immune system. There will be an emphasis on the nature of the host-parasite interaction on a molecular level. Lectures include discussions of recent literature concerning parasites and their interactions with the host.