Essay Instructions: Research/Topic Report
In this assignment you should be able to: demonstrate the ability to access contemporary published research in the field of microbiology, apply the scientific method to interpret a research study, evaluate sources of information, and cite sources appropriately and accurately.
1) Recognize the use of the scientific method to weigh evidence, make decisions, and solve problems
2) Apply knowledge of cellular and molecular processes to understand infectious disease mechanisms
3) Synthesize knowledge of microbial pathogenesis and disease prevention methods and communicate this knowledge to the community
Assignment:
You will do some research and write an informative (single spaced, not including figures, tables, footnotes, bibliography, and glossary) report about a viral emerging or e-emerging infectious disease or caused by an NIAID priority pathogen .
List of NIAID Emerging and Re-emerging Diseases (Last Updated September 04, 2008) and Category A, B, C Priority Pathogens (Last Updated February 27, 2012). Retrieved February 28, 2012 from
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/emerging/Pages/list.aspx
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/DengueFever/Pages/default.aspx.
http://www.medindia.net/healthnews/Dengue-fever-news.asp
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/215840-overview
Theses 4 Web sites provide a lot of useful background information for your repsearch. You also need to discuss at least one current (within the past 5 years) scholarly research article on the disease or pathogen. This should be a published peer-reviewed research study. ScienceDaily and Science News have several recent articles about recently published research studies on dengue fever.
The discussion for that portion of your report should include describe the researchers' question (i.e., statement of the problem), observations that led to the question, the hypothesis for the study, a summary of the overall approach, results, and conclusions of the study, and what you found interesting about the study.
Include the name of the disease in the title of the report.
- Describe the signs and symptoms of the disease and indicate where it is normally found and the ways in which it is transmitted.
- Name the virus that causes the disease. Indicate the family it belongs to and describe the virus (type of genome, shape, size, enveloped or non-enveloped, components, replication, etc.).
- Describe the pathogenesis of infection (how the pathogen infects the host and causes the disease), and how the host's body fights the infection to try and prevent disease.
- Discuss at least one current (within the past 5 years) scholarly research article on the disease or pathogen. This could include a research study on any one of the following: prevention or treatment of the disease (e.g. new vaccine or drug strategies), diagnosis, prevention of the spread of the pathogen, genetics of the pathogen, host immunity to the pathogen, mechanisms by which the virus can evade or block the host innate antiviral response, or a clinical study.
Include the hypothesis of the research and a summary of the overall approach, the results and conclusion of the authors, and what you found interesting about the research.
- Describe and discuss either environmental or other factors contributing to the emergence or re-emergence of the disease or the impact of the disease on society (locally or globally).
- Include a glossary defining the medical and scientific terms that may not be familiar to a student taking this course. (Pick 4 words that may seem new to non medical personal)
- Include in-text citations and a reference page preferably formatted in APA style.
Required Sources for Your Report
You must use at at least one ne Web site run by reputable organizations, such as the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO).
Your research article must come from a published scholarly peer-reviewed journal article or a reputable Web news source (such as sciencenews.org, sciencedaily.com, or newscientist.com). The article must explain a scientific study with specific details about that study. The article needs to provide actual scientific data, not just a general review of a topic.
