Syllabus and Schedule: Printable pdf Version (Schedule Only)

Scope:Animal health has broad implications, ranging from the health of individual animals and the well-being of human communities to issues of global security.  Today animal health is at the crossroads because of its striking interdependence and connectiveness.  The primary objective of this semester is to provide participants of AS 681 with a greater understanding of interactions among microbes, food animals, and environment, as well as develop critical thinking skills through evaluation of original research articles. 

Approach:Each student will choose a recent journal article based upon topic of choice and develop a 50 min lecture to present a review & lead a discussion of the chosen paper.

Special topics include, but are not limited to:

• Molecular mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis on zoonotic pathogens that are either directly relevant to animal disease or important in food safety
• Target discovery for vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics
• Immune protective mechanisms against microbial infections and microbial immune evasion mechanisms
• Epidemiological studies of pre- and post-harvest food safety
• The mechanisms for the development, persistence, and transfer of antibiotic resistance
• Molecular, cellular, or immunological mechanisms of food animals in response to stress

Course Requirements:

1.   Journal article selection.  

• Journal article must be indexed on Medline/Web of Science and published between 2004-2007

• Journal article must be approved by Dr. Lin.

• Research articles must be chosen and approved by Dr. Lin no later than Jan 31, 2007 (The paper presented on Jan 31 should be approved no later than Jan 24, 2007).  After approval, students are to send Dr. Lin an electronic (pdf) copy of the research article for dissemination to graduate students, faculty, and staff in the department. 

2.  Paper presentation and discussion (~ 50 min total).  

• The lecture should provide sufficient background so that everyone understands the topic that is being discussed in the chosen research article.  Please use the introduction of the paper as a guideline. Clearly address the rationale/objective of the paper and present the approaches and results described in the chosen paper.

• The presenter should lead discussion during/following paper presentation. To lead the discussion, students can use the blackboard, overheads, or powerpoint.

3.  Preparation of all students for participation in discussions.

• Send 2 questions/comments regarding the journal article to Dr. Lin (jlin6@utk.edu) by 10 am the Wednesday morning of the article presentation.  Potential things to consider – Do authors provide strong rationale for the study? Were the experiments designed appropriately? Why did they choose this type of design?  Would another technique be better?  Do you know if there are alternative techniques?  Alternatively, this new technique/design was novel and allowed the authors to answer a specific question.  Do you understand the technique?  Do you agree/disagree with the results?  The conclusions?  

Overall, grades are based upon attendance and completion of the three above assignments.

• 75 pts – Presentation of journal article/leading discussion
• 16 pts – Preparation for each journal article (2 pts each article presented x  8 articles)
• 9 pts – Participation in discussions

 
Attendance is mandatory.  However, it is recognized that there are occasions when research experiments or meetings must come first.  Generally this has amounted to students missing 1-2 classes.  Nonetheless, students acquiring 3 or more unexcused absences will receive a failing grade.   

If a student misses a class period when a research article is being reviewed, it is expected that the student review the article and provide the 2 discussion questions to Dr. Lin within 7 days of class, unless other arrangements are made.

Grading: Grades are based upon attendance, presentation of journal article/leading discussion, and participation of journal article discussion.

Students Enrolled in the Course: 

1)  Sukolrat Boonyaytra (Cookei), PhD student, Animal Science 
2)  Chris Carter, MS Student, Animal Science
3)  Dave Caldwell. MS Student, Animal Science
4)  Kristina Carter, Ph.D. student, Food Science and Technology
5)  Alexandra Elliott, PhD Student, Animal Science
6)  Ky Van Hoang, PhD student, Animal Science
7)  Ximing Zeng, PhD student, Animal Science
8)  Sarah Piper, MS student, Animal Science
9) Jennifer Weisent, Ph.D. student, College of Veterinary Medicine