Handbook

Microscopic life pervades every aspect of our lives, influencing our health, diet, and environment. In this course you will gain an appreciation of the diverse roles that microbes play in our everyday lives. The course starts with a general introduction to Microbiology that will discuss cell structure, function, physiology, and diversity. The course then focuses on introducing students to specific areas of microbiology: food microbiology, medical microbiology, virology, and eukaryotic microbiology. There is additional focus on the pathological processes and pharmaceutical treatment of microbial infections in humans. 

The lecture program is complemented by synchronous and and asynchronous tutorials and laboratory practicals where you will learn about sterilisation and aseptic techniques, as well as methods to cultivate, identify, and utilise microbes. During this course you will isolate and characterise a microbe from a sample of your choice. You will use both traditional approaches and DNA sequencing technologies to identify the microorganisms in your sample.  

By the end of the course, you will have a broad appreciation of how the unseen microbes all around you influence you every day.