BIO A 483: Human Genetics, Disease, and Culture

Autumn 2006

 

 

Instructor:                          Dr. Steven Goodreau

                                                Office: Denny 140

                                                Phone: (206) 685-3870

                                                E-mail: goodreau@u.washington.edu

                                                Office Hours:  Thursday 2:30-3:30 and upon request

 

Class meeting time:        TTh 12:30- 2:20

Class meeting place:      Savery 313

Class homepage:              faculty.washington.edu/goodreau/bioa483

 

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Catalog description:  Considers relationships among genetic aspects of human disease, cultural behavior, and natural habitat for a wide variety of conditions. Also considers issues of biological versus environmental determinism, adaptive aspects of genetic disease, and the role of cultural selection.

 

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Course goals:

 

  • For students to develop a deep appreciation for the complex ways in which genes, culture and environment interact in determining health and disease outcomes both for individuals and for societies.

 

  • For students to know the methods by which these many causes of disease and health are identified.

 

  • For students to become able to synthesize and critically evaluate the primary literature on disease in order to develop a deep understanding for a condition of specific interest to them.

 

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Prerequisites: BIO A 201 (or similar).   In other words, a general familiarity with biological concepts, especially basic genetics.

 

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Readings:  The course includes both a textbook as well as individual readings.  The textbook is Principles of Medical Genetics (2nd Edition), available at the UW bookstore and on reserve at the Health Sciences Library.  The individual readings are available on electronic reserve at:

 

http://catalog.lib.washington.edu/search/rbioa/rbioa/-3%2C0%2C0%2CB/frameset&FF=
rbio+a+483&1%2C1%2C/indexsort=-

 

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COURSE ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING:

 

The course covers a variety of forms of knowledge, including everything from molecular genetic methods to readings on culture and health, and the various assignments are designed to cover this range of knowledge. These include two exams, one group presentation, one final paper (related to the group presentation), and participation in classroom group discussions based upon the readings and the group presentations.

 

The exams are scheduled for October 26 and November 21. Each will be approximately one hour long and occur during the first half of the class.

 

Seminar participation.  Throughout the quarter (but concentrated in the latter half) we will have seminar sessions.  The goal of these sessions is to explore sections of the course material at much greater depth than is possible from a lecture format.  Students must complete the assigned reading. The class will spend half an hour or so in small groups of 5-6 people discussing the readings and developing group answers to a set of questions provided by the instructor, as well as a list of questions they have for the class as a whole.  We will then come together to discuss the readings as an entire class.

 

Group presentations and final paper.  A short way into the quarter, students will divide up into teams of three based on shared interests in a disease or condition that they wish to research in more depth.  The specific choice of topic is generally open, but must be approved by the instructor.  It cannot relate to any of the conditions covered in detail in the rest of the course (cystic fibrosis, malaria, the hemoglobinopathies, diabetes, or HIV).

 

Teams will research their condition of interest and uncover what is known about its genetic, cultural, and environmental causes. The research should mirror the kinds of inquiries discussed in class, including both proximate and ultimate (evolutionary) perspectives on the disease. Each team will develop a 24 minute presentation, with individual members presenting for ~8 minutes each.

 

The grading breakdown is as follows:

 

Exam 1                                  20%

Exam 2                                  20%

Final paper                            25%

Presentation                          15%

Participation                          20%

 

Course Policies:

 

Late assignments:  Grades for late assignments will depreciate by 10% per day, including any fraction of a day late. I will not accept assignments more than a week late.

 

Other Policies:  We are all adults—use common sense, be respectful of each other, your instructor, and yourself, and follow UW’s Student Conduct Code (http://www.washington.edu/students/handbook/ conduct.html) and policies on Academic Honesty (http://depts.washington.edu/grading/issue1/ honesty.htm), with which it is your responsibility to be familiar.

COURSE OUTLINE

 

Section

Date

Assignments

Intro

Thu 28-Sep

 

Mendelian disease. Case study: cystic fibrosis.

Tue 03-Oct

Text pp. 1-22 (much review)

Thu 05-Oct

Text pp. 23-42

Tue 10-Oct

Text pp. 61-84

Thu 12-Oct

Text pp. 195-230 (except  206-211, Muscular Dystrophy, Huntington Disease)

Multiple disease  tradeoffs. Case study: malaria and the hemoglobinopathies

Tue 17-Oct

Text pp. 91-116

Thu 19-Oct

Jackson 161-167, 170-176

Tue 24-Oct

SEMINAR READING 1

Complex degenerative  diseases.  Case study: diabetes.

Thu 26-Oct

EXAM 1

Tue 31-Oct

Text pp. 44-60

Thu 02-Nov

Prentice

Tue 07-Nov

SEMINAR READING 2

Guest lecture

Thu 09-Nov

Reading TBA

Social behavior and infectious disease.  Case study: HIV.

Tue 14-Nov

Reading TBA

Thu 16-Nov

SEMINAR READING 3

Tue 21-Nov

EXAM 2

Tue 28-Nov

SEMINAR READING 4

Student presentations

Thu 30-Nov

Student presentations – Groups A-D

Tue 05-Dec

Student presentations – Groups E-G

Thu 07-Dec

Student presentations – Groups H-J

 

Mon 11-Dec

FINAL PAPER