Download Evolution, Disease, and Medicine

Evolution, Disease, and Medicine 704:110
Instructor: Dr. Nina H. Fefferman
Offered: Each Fall Semester
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Detailed Description: This course will be designed to introduce students to the theory of
evolution and its real-world applications to the practice of medicine. Concepts of survival
and reproduction defining evolutionary fitness, co-evolution, competition, natural
selection, bottleneck effects, adaptation and exaptation will be introduced and applied in
the context of discussion of human and animal disease and the medical treatment thereof.
The course will cover infectious and non-infectious diseases. Students will also learn to
extend these concepts past individual-level medicine to population-level public health
and consider real-world cases such as antibiotic resistance, vaccination leading to strain
replacement, and disease control decisions such as targeting specific populations for
vaccination.
Rationale: This course will provide a concise introduction to the theory of Evolution,
meant to be accessible to any student. Students who wish to enter any of a wide variety of
fields (such as evolutionary biology, public health, medicine, nursing, or health related
research, including pharmaceutical research) will gain a practical understanding of
applied evolutionary theory.
Syllabus
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
A
B
A
B
A
B
A
B
A
B
A
B
A
B
A
A
B
A
B
A
B
A
B
Introduction to evolutionary fitness
Discussion of definitions and causes of disease
Mechanisms of evolution
Natural selection
Exaptation
Selective transparency
Evolutionary fitness with competition
Co-evolution
Signs and symptoms of infectious disease
Co-evolutionary arms race of infectious disease
Continued discussion of signs and symptoms and treatment
Disease in competition: multiplayer arms race
Review for midterm
Review for midterm
Midterm
Injury
Toxins
Genetic diseases and Aging
Evolutionary legacies with adverse pathology
Allergy and immunity
Cancer
Sex and reproduction
Social behavior and disease
Week 13
Week 14
A
B
A
B
Mental illness
Individual medicine and public health
More examples of evolutionarily informed medical treatments
Recap, future directions, and wrap-up discussion
Assessment:
5 short quizzes (out of 6 quizzes - lowest grade dropped; 10% each)
Midterm exam (15%)
Weekly discussion participation (online) (15%)
Final project (20%)