Trying to understand molecular mechanisms of viral infection and disease is a fascinating endeavor and of significant societal relevance. In this course you will learn a lot, but will be taught little about this subject. Some general lectures on viruses and the methods available to study them will provide a basis to embark on the Viral Diseases project; the core of this course. Each project group will work on one of the following three viruses: HIV (the AIDS virus), the Ebola virus or the influenza virus (or flu virus). These three viruses pose serious health risks to human beings. The first stage of every viral disease is an infection, and every viral disease leads to the production of new viruses by the infected cells, which die afterwards. You will map out the molecular aspects of these processes under the guidance of your group supervisor. Subsequently, you will formulate a research hypothesis that will boost research in this area, aiming to understand and eventually beat this virus. You will identify suitable methods and design experiments to test your hypothesis. At the closing symposium you will present your hypothesis and approach to investigate it to the other project groups in the form of a research grant application. This course will also contain an exercise in submitting a summary of the research grant application.
Molecular interactions and physical-chemical processes in and on living cells underlie all viral infections. That is why insights from biochemistry and bio-organic chemistry, structural biology, physical chemistry, and of course molecular virology and cell biology will be discussed during the project. As the focus is on analyzing and solving practical problems, methods and approaches will be covered as well.