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About viruses and viral disease

My virology course at Columbia University

20 January 2012

w3310 virology 2012The third annual installment of my virology course at Columbia University, Biology W3310, has begun. This course, which I taught for the first time in 2009, is intended for advanced undergraduates and will be taught at the Morningside Campus.

Until I started this course, no instruction in virology had been offered at the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University since the late 1980s. This is a serious omission for a first-class University. Sending graduates into the world without even a fundamental understanding of viruses and viral disease is inexcusable.

Course enrollment has steadily increased: 45 students in the 2009, 66 students in 2010, and an amazing 88 students this year. I am gratified that so many students want to learn about the world of viruses. From the photo you can see that the classroom is full, so if interest in the course continues to increase, we will need a larger room.

Most readers of virology blog will not be able to sit in on each lecture – but you can still watch every one of them. You will find a videocast of each lecture at the course website, at my page on Vimeo, and at iTunes University. An archive of the 2011 version of this course is available online or at iTunes University. I will announce when each lecture is posted on Twitter and Google+. Virology is a rapidly moving field, so rest assured that this year’s version of the course will be different.

The goal of Virology W3310 is to provide an understanding of how viruses are built, how they replicate and evolve, how they cause disease, and how to prevent infection. After taking the course, some of the students might want to become virologists. The course will also provide the knowledge required to make informed decisions about health issues such as immunization against viral infections.

Thanks to the internet, the information in my virology course is accessible to everyone.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mark says

    20 January 2012 at 11:46 am

    Awesome!!!! I’ll improve my knowledge with your material…Thanks!!! By a Brazilian Student!

  2. Fran says

    20 January 2012 at 12:08 pm

    Thanks for providing this info on the web! 🙂

  3. Colm says

    20 January 2012 at 1:15 pm

    I know it was just announced yesterday, but have you considered in the future trying to adapt your materials to iTunesU?

  4. Colm says

    20 January 2012 at 1:16 pm

    I _clearly_ woke up too early this morning, and glossed over that it was already on there. Apologies.

  5. Jack says

    20 January 2012 at 3:25 pm

    I think this is a great idea and will definitely be viewing the lectures – I see the first is already available!

  6. BG says

    21 January 2012 at 12:50 pm

    Thank you this is really cool of you.

  7. Jack says

    22 January 2012 at 6:02 am

    Would it be all right to post any questions resulting from the lectures (or prompted by them) here or maybe submit them in the usual way perhaps?

  8. profvrr says

    22 January 2012 at 2:03 pm

    I would be happy to answer questions – it would probably be best to send them to virology at virology dot ws. This blog post will fall off the front page soon and most won’t see it. I would like to have a better way to have individuals like you register for the course, as is done for Stanford University’s online offerings, but I haven’t reached that stage yet. But I would share questions with the class – I think it’s a good way to get them thinking about the material.

  9. Buendiaenr says

    23 January 2012 at 9:57 am

    Se necesita que investiguen la sábila, yo la tomo molida con un poco de agua (hasta tener 0.5 litros) y la gripa se quita en cuestion de minutos o a lo mas muy pocas horas. También sirve para muchas más curaciones en el cuerpo humano (acides, estomago, intestinos, herpes, para el cabello, etc.) 

  10. virology rookie says

    23 January 2012 at 7:03 pm

    Usted está seguro que no es el efecto placebo, en el caso de la gripa suya? En términos del resto, la sábila cura qué de los acides, el estomago, y los intestinos? Qué hace para el cabello? Y qué hace con herpes? (Y puede decirnos qué tipo/especie de áloe? Es un género entero.) 

    (disculpe mi mala español, no es mi lengua madre)

  11. Poodle Stomper says

    24 January 2012 at 5:29 pm

    Eso es un montón de basura. Por favor, aprendan verdadera virología antes de comentar. Gracias!

  12. Class2011 says

    29 January 2012 at 2:14 am

    I was in the 2011 class, and I have to say I am glad I closed my undergraduate with a class in Virology. I hope Dr. Despommier is still doing that guest lecture on West Nile. 

  13. gsgs says

    5 February 2012 at 4:36 am

    I also found it here:
    http://www.mecfsforums.com/index.php?topic=11214.0
     

  14. Sharmeen Rafique says

    22 February 2012 at 10:36 am

    thank you for sharing your knowledge

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