Course Syllabus for BIO 432, Evolutionary Medicine

Spring Semester, 2022

Prerequisites: BIO 181, 183 & GN 311 or their equivalents. Credit is not allowed for Both BIO 330 and BIO 432. 

 

BIO 432 Lecture/discussion: Monday & Wednesdays 4:30-5:45 PM in Room 102 of David Clark Labs 

Please Note: The first two sessions (January 10 and 12) will be delivered synchronously via Zoom. If you do not already have a Zoom link, please contact Jeff Thorne at thorne@ncsu.edu. Assuming plans are not derailed by the pandemic, the January 17 and subsequent sessions will be in-person. Attendance is required for all synchronous lectures, both for the Zoom sessions and for all in-person sessions .  

 

Instructors

Dr. Marianne Niedzlek-Feaver

Office: 136 David Clark labs

Office Hours: By arrangement. 

E-mail: mnfeaver@ncsu.edu

Her course material will be at https://projects.ncsu.edu/project/evoresources/Evolutionary%20medicine/2022%20em%20docs/432%20schedulemnf.html

Dr. Jeffrey Thorne

Office: 323 Ricks

Office Hours: Dr. Thorne will make every effort to be available for meetings.  Please let him know if you would like to meet. 

E-mail: thorne@ncsu.edu 

His course material will be at   http://statgen.ncsu.edu/thorne/thorne_evomed.html

 

Course material can also be accessed via Wolfware------Simply connect to "My Wolfware" and click on the course title.

 

Course Description: This course introduces the rapidly emerging field of evolutionary medicine.  The aim is to have students better understand the evolutionary nature of many issues connected to human health and to better understand the field of evolution via examples that are medically relevant.

 

Learning Outcomes:

After completing this course, students will be able to:

(1) summarize the evolutionary interplay between natural selection, genetic drift, mutation, recombination, and population subdivision.

(2) explain the relevance of evolution to human health.

(3) explain what an evolutionary perspective can and cannot contribute to health and disease management.

 

Email Etiquette:  (1) If sending an email message to one or both instructors, please include "Bio432" and your initials in the subject line.  Also in the subject line (even if you are replying to a previous email message), edit the subject so that instructors will see that you have sent a new message.  Otherwise, instructors may not notice the new message.   (2) If you are attaching a document to your email message, include your name in the document and use your name and course number for the file name.  We will make every effort to quickly reply to your email messages, but sometimes quick replies may not be feasible.

 

Grading:  Unless students are taking the course on a satisfactory / unsatisfactory basis, letter grading (A, B, C, D, or F with plus/minus grading) will be used.  

There will be 600 possible points for the course: 300 total points that will be allocated to three midterm exams and one take-home final exam; 60 possible points from a presentation; 40 possible points for class participation (including attendance at other students' talks); and 200 possible points from homework, in-class quizzes or in-class assignments.  The detailed allocation of the 200 points to the categories of homework, quizzes, and in-class assignments will be determined by instructors as the semester progresses.   The guiding principle for this allocation will be to enhance classroom discussion.  Specifically, quizzes will be more frequent when classroom discussion is less frequent. This point guideline is for your benefit so you can track your progress in the course.      We do not grade on a strict point basis. An excellent performance on homework and class discussion can for example be used as justification for assigning a higher grade than simple points dictate. One "bad" performance on an exam may be overlooked if all other work is excellent.

A grade of Incomplete (IN) may be assigned at the discretion of your instructors.  This grade will only be considered for situations that the student could not have reasonably avoided. 

Attendance:   Attendance is expected for all synchronous class meetings.  If students have to be absent, they must provide a written excuse with appropriate documentation. Missed examinations or quizzes are discouraged.  They will be allowed only for University-approved absences (please see https://policies.ncsu.edu/regulation/reg-02-20-03). Please note that we will find ways to make sure that students are not penalized by absences associated with Covid-19.

Assignment submission: Group reports may be required for some activities. These will have to be submitted by email or moodle to the appropriate instructor.  In the body of the report, always include full names as they appear on the university IDs and also include the names of all students involved in the group activity.   Homework to be submitted via the internet (e.g., moodle or email) will always be due at 4:30PM on the due date unless otherwise indicated.    

 

Rules of Conduct: Masks are to stay on faces and are to cover nose and mouth! Eating and drinking should not happen inside classroom. Students who are disruptive or disrespectful of others will be asked to leave and will not receive credit for quizzes or in-class activities that occur during that session.  Students will be asked to follow and sign the N.C.S.U. honor pledge as part of exams.     Cheating and other breaches of the N.C.S.U. Code of Student Conduct will be reported.  For more about policies concerning student conduct, go to: https://policies.ncsu.edu/policy/pol-11-35-01

  

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR DISABILITIES:  Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. To take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with Disability Services Office at Suite 2221, Student Health Center, Box 7509, 919-515-7653. For more info. on NC State's policy on working with students with disabilities, see Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Regulation (REG02.20.01)

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY:  NC State provides equal opportunity and affirmative action efforts, and prohibits all forms of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation ("Prohibited Conduct") that are based upon a person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, gender identity, genetic information, sexual orientation, or veteran status (individually and collectively, "Protected Status"). Additional information as to each Protected Status is included in NCSU REG 04.25.02 (Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Complaint Procedure). NC State's policies and regulations covering discrimination, harassment, and retaliation may be accessed at http://policies.ncsu.edu/policy/pol-04-25-05 or https://oied.ncsu.edu/divweb/. Any person who feels that he or she has been the subject of prohibited discrimination, harassment, or retaliation should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity (OEO) at 919-515-3148.

POLICIES, RULES, AND REGULATIONS:  Students are responsible for reviewing the PRRs that pertain to their course rights and responsibilities. These include: http://policies.ncsu.edu/policy/pol-04-25-05 (Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Policy Statement), http://oied.ncsu.edu/oied/policies.php (Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity), http://policies.ncsu.edu/policy/pol-11-35-01 (Code of Student Conduct), and http://policies.ncsu.edu/regulation/reg-02-50-03 (Grades and Grade Point Average).

SUPPORTING FELLOW STUDENTS IN DISTRESS:  As members of the NC State Wolfpack community, we each share a personal responsibility to express concern for one another and to ensure that this classroom and the campus as a whole remains a safe environment for learning.  Occasionally, students may come across a fellow classmate whose personal behavior concerns or worries them. When this is the case, we encourage students to report this behavior to the NC State CARES website: https://prevention.dasa.ncsu.edu/nc-state-cares/about/.  Although reports can be anonymous, it is preferred that students share contact information to facilitate follow-ups pertinent to the reports.