Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
J. CHARLES JENNETTE, Brinkhous Distinguished Professor and Chair
Pathology is the study of disease, its causes, development, and consequences. It is concerned with basic mechanisms of disease processes (pathobiology) and their structural/functional manifestations. Pathology combines the tools and the basic knowledge from many disciplines, such as molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, immunology, anatomy, and clinical sciences, to clarify the cause (etiology), natural course (pathogenesis), and diagnosis of disease.
Faculty members in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine maintain active research programs and engage in training predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows in a wide range of research endeavors. Undergraduate students interested in participating in pathobiological research should consider registering for PATH 462.
PATH
128 [008] Biology of Human Disease (BIOL 128) (3). Open to all undergraduates. No prerequisites. Presents an overview of basic human molecular and cellular biology in the setting of common human diseases. The course will emphasize how an understanding of disease mechanisms provides the knowledge base for informed use of modern health care.
426 [134] Biology of Blood Diseases (BIOL 426) (3). Prerequisite, BIOL 205 or permission of the instructor. An introduction to the biology and pathophysiology of blood and the molecular mechanisms of some human diseases: anemias; leukemias; hemorrhagic, thrombotic, and vascular disorders; and HIV disease/AIDS.
462 [162] Experimental Pathology (1–21). Hours, credits, and instructor to be arranged on an individual basis. This course involves hands-on research experience in a predetermined instructor’s laboratory. Students have the opportunity to learn and apply specific techniques and to participate in investigations of molecular mechanisms responsible for disease processes (pathobiology). Contact the director of graduate studies in pathology for more information. May be repeated.
463 [163] Electron Microscopy (3). Permission of the instructor. Theoretical and practical aspects of electron microscopy. Application of transmission and scanning electron microscopy to pathology, with emphasis on ultrastructure of cells and organelles. Two lecture and six laboratory hours a week.
464 [164] Light Microscopy (3). Permission of the instructor. Course focuses on practical fundamentals of light microscopy including optics, contrast mechanisms, fluorescence, laser scanning confocal microscopy, photography, and digital imaging.