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Course Instructor Credits
Core courses for the Pathobiology Graduate Program
VSC 520 - Pathobiology Jeanne Lumadue 3
Description: This course is intended to introduce the scientific process as it is applied to the broad range of infectious disease. Topics include bacterial, viral and parasitic disease, focusing on the scientific approaches and the modern molecular tools, with specific topics of interest selected and presented by students. A parallel goal is to establish positive, yet scientifically rigorous, interactions between students to encourage them to learn from each other throughout their graduate training.
VSC 590 – Colloquium Robert Paulson 1
Description: Colloquium is a mandatory course for Pathobiology graduate students, to be taken each Fall and Spring. This seminar series consists of a combination of formal student presentations by second, third and fourth year students, and seminars by outside speakers who have made significant contributions to the fields of Immunology, toxicology, carcinogenesis, infectious disease and hematopoiesis (see Bortree seminar series).
VSC 597 – Ethics in Biomedical Research - -
This course is currently under development. To be offered in Fall 2003.
Supporting courses for the Molecular Toxicology Track in the Pathobiology graduate program.
VSC 430 – Principles of Toxicology Curt Omiencinski 3
Description: Principles of Toxicology is the introductory course in the Molecular Toxicology sequence taught at Penn State. This course is designed to introduce students to the broad discipline of toxicology. Basic principles of toxicology and their applications to the understanding of xenobiotic-induced target organ toxicology will be presented in this course. Lecture topics on basic principles relating to toxicant exposure routes; dose-response relationships in toxicity; absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of toxicants; and chemical carcinogenesis & mutagenesis will provide a foundation on which the remainder of the course will be built. These basic principles will be applied to a systematic examination of the responses of specific target organ systems following exposure to various classes of toxicants. Students will be introduced to the major classes of compounds that affect specific organ systems as well as primary mechanisms of toxicity of these agents. This course is designed to provide a foundation for understanding the complex interactions between toxicants and biological systems from a basic science approach. This is not a clinical toxicology course.
VSC/BMB 433 – Molecular and Cellular Toxicology (Required course) Jack Vanden Heuvel, Gary Perdew 3
Description: Description: Molecular and Cellular Toxicology is designed to provide a mechanistic understanding of how drugs and chemicals result in toxicity, with an emphasis on cancer. Studies on mechanisms of chemical toxicity influence a wide spectrum of interests from the basic to more applied sciences. In addition to the significance of these studies in clarifying the pathogenesis of various toxic responses, elucidation of how chemicals work at the cellular and molecular level helps obtain a better grasp of normal biological processes and may be applied to drug discovery. This course will examine the dynamics of chemicals in the organism, their metabolism and interaction with cellular components such as receptors. Subsequently, the basic tenets of gene expression and toxicity, in particular chemical carcinogenesis, will be discussed.
ERM 431 – Environmental Toxicology Jeff Peters 2
Description: This ecotoxicology course is designed to provide a mechanistic understanding of how chemicals released into the environmental affect individuals and populations. General concepts of fate and transport of chemicals in the environment, including sources and emission of pollutants, is a major focus of this course. In addition, the principals underlying the study of adverse health effects, toxicology, will be described. The experimental means used to assess toxicity and the regulation of chemical releases by governmental agencies will be included. Many of these concepts will be reinforced through the use of a case-study approach where a pertinent, timely, environmental issue is incorporated into the ongoing lectures.
VSC/IBIOS 530 – Regulation Of Gene Expression By Xenobiotics Jack Vanden Heuvel, Gary Perdew 2
Description: A common mechanism by which chemicals and drugs affect a given target cell is to modulate a subset of genes that are being expressed. In this course we will examine the mechanisms by which foreign chemicals alter gene expression and the techniques used to examine this effect. Of particular interest are chemicals that mimic endogenous regulators of gene expression and result in toxicity. In addition, the effects of xenobiotics on genes that are involved in cancer (oncogenes, growth regulators) are emphasized. This course will rely heavily on current literature with group discussions with very few lectures.
VSC532 - Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology Jeff Peters 2
Description: This course is designed to provide a mechanistic understanding of how environmental chemicals, nutrients and drugs affect reproduction and development of embryos and fetuses, including effects that result from maternal and paternal toxicity. General concepts of development will be briefly covered in this course, with major emphasis on how specific developmental pathways are influenced by exposure to developmentally toxic conditions. Focus on how chemicals, nutrient deficiencies, drugs, and interactions between these variables and genes will also be covered in detail. The experimental means used to assess developmental and reproductive toxicity and the regulation of these chemicals by governmental agencies will be included. Many of these concepts will be reinforced through the use of a case study approach where a pertinent, timely, issue is incorporated into the ongoing lectures.
IBIOS 570 - Molecular Toxicology Seminar Series Gary Perdew 2
Description: This course provides an opportunity for students in the Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Toxicity program to interact with leading scientists.


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