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3143

ADVANCED DIAGNOSTIC PARASITOLOGY (3143)

ORGANISER: John Williams

DATES: 11 January 2012 to 10 February 2012  (14.00pm Wednesday to 17.00pm Friday)


AIM
The main aim is to introduce modern methods in use and under development for the laboratory diagnosis of the important parasitic diseases of man for clinical and epidemiological purposes.  The Study Module also provides opportunities to evaluate the potential applications of these methods in developing and developed countries, and to improve and refine diagnosis by microscopical methods.


OBJECTIVES
By the end of this module students should be able to:

  1. demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of the application and evaluation of advanced diagnostic techniques;
  2. demonstrate increased ability to diagnose parasites by microscopy.


CONSTITUENCY
This module is designed for those who have either taken the Parasitology & Entomology (3122) module in Term 1 or have extensive practical experience in diagnostic parasitology. This module is intended for those expecting to specialise in diagnostic parasitology, monitoring control programmes or in the development of novel diagnostic techniques.


CONCEPTUAL OUTLINE

Week 1:    Introduction. Laboratory management and good practice. Principles of test evaluation. Constraints on accuracy and applicability of tests. Economic considerations.  Reagent supply and test development. Microscopy.

Week 2:    Immunoassays for antibody and antigen. Western blots, ELISA, dot ELISA, Immunofluorescence, other immunoassays. Presentations by students with class discussion. Microscopy.

Week 3:    Nucleic acid techniques in diagnosis. Principles of probe and primer design. Polymerase and ligase chain reaction. Presentations by students with class discussion.

Week 4:    Culture-based diagnosis and Electron microscopical techniques in diagnosis. Microscopy.

Week 5:    Practical revision and practical examination.


TEACHING STRATEGY
The module is designed to encourage maximum participation by students, who will be able to share their own specialised knowledge with the rest of the class. Each student will make one small group PowerPoint presentation with other members of the class on a given topic, which will usually be the diagnostic methods for a particular parasite or disease. This will not be assessed, but will be part of the learning process for all members of the class. The time balance is 30% lectures/discussions, 35% presentations, 35% practical work.


LEARNING TIME
The module is made up of 150 Notional Learning Hours – 48 hours contact time, 24 hours directed self-study, 40 hours self-directed learning, and 38 hours assessment, review and revision.


ASSESSMENT
Assessment will be in two parts: An essay based on the presentation, which must be produced as an individual piece of work and a practical examination. The grades for each will be equally weighted and combined to give an overall GPA.

FEE

£1,600 for each module including access to LSHTM library and learning resources, study materials and assessment.

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