Microbiology specializes in the study of organisms too small to be seen without magnification. While extremely small, microorganisms have a profound influence on our world. Using a One Health lens, this course explores the benefits microbes have for people, animals, and the environment as well as their role in infectious disease. A discovery-based research project in the lab has students searching for new antibiotics produced by soil microbes. This course is designed both for students seeking a general understanding of the microbial world and for those students interested in entering the health professions of nursing, medicine, dentistry, and veterinary science.

This capstone level course investigates the epidemiology, transmission patterns, and pathogenesis of representative diseases that have newly emerged or are reemerging through student led discussion of the primary literature. A student-designed research project bioprospecting for novel antibiotic is carried out in the laboratory portion of the class, and students prepare a scientific poster to satisfy the Writing in the Discipline designation. Also having a Sustainability designation, these topics are considered from a One Health approach integrating the health of humans, animals and the environment throughout the course.

In this upper level course, students perform a semester-long original research project focused on antibiotic discovery. The lecture component focuses on some the most threatening antibiotic resistant bacterial infections by reading and discussing current research articles.