Foundations of Clinical Medicine

This course explores fundamental concepts of biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, and immunology as applied to clinical medicine in a mostly "flipped classroom" format. This course will help to establish a foundation for understanding the pathophysiology of disease and the targets for therapeutic interventions. Discipline topics include: Biochemistry: thermodynamics, enzyme kinetics, vitamins and cofactors, metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and nucleotides, and the integration of metabolic pathways. Genetics: basic principles of inheritance and risk assessment, illustrated with the use of clinical examples from many areas of medicine including prenatal, pediatric, adult and cancer genetics. Microbiology: Basic bacteriology, virology, mycology and parasitology, including pathogenesis and clinical scenarios associated with infectious diseases. Immunology: concepts and applications of adaptive and innate immunity and the role of the immune system in human disease. Enrollment is limited to MSPA students.