FRS 001P - Sec. 001 - (2 units) - CRN 42067 - M 4:10-6:00 pm - 144 Olson
Your Genes, The Environment and Your Health

Instructor: Boris Ruebner, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine

Description: The goal of this seminar is to provide students with a basic understanding of the interactions between heredity and environment in affecting human health. Illustrative examples taken from the medical histories of students in the class and their families will be used. Their privacy will be respected. Medical histories of famous peoples, such as presidents may be substituted for personal histories. It is hoped that as a result of this class students will be able to evaluate more critically the health information available in the media and to participate more effectively in their own health care and that of their families. High school level Biology is desirable.

Format: The first seminar meeting will be held in Olson or Wellman Hall. The subsequent seminars will, whenever possible, be held in one of the seminar rooms in Tupper Hall which are designed for small group teaching. During the first three weeks, there will be discussions led by Dr. Ruebner of some basic features of Biology relevant to this class starting with evolution and genetics. This will be followed by a brief overview of the principal human organ systems and a discussion of the concept of disease. Teaching materials will be obtained from Dr. Ruebner's collection or from other faculty members in the medical school. During these three weeks, students will be expected to research and summarize in one page their own medical history and that of their family or that of a historic character. Based on these summaries, Dr. Ruebner will select a subject for presentation by each student, which will be introduced by Dr. Ruebner and discussed by the class. It is expected that during this course each student will give an oral presentation describing one patient and will produce a 2-3 page paper discussing prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease this patient is suffering from. Field work related to this class, such as visits to the Shriner's Hospital and Medical School departments may be arranged at the student's request. Attendance at these will be optional. Grading: Grades will be based on participation in class (25%) Medical history (25%) and final written paper (50%).

About the Instructor:
Dr. Ruebner is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Pathology of the Medical School. His research interests center on cancer of the intestine and liver. Pathology is the science of causes and mechanisms of diseases. Dr. Ruebner is particularly interested in hereditary and environmental factors responsible for diseases and in their prevention and management. He believes that a good general education should, in addition to teaching the traditional subjects, produce informed graduates who can understand why physicians recommend certain ways of handling various diseases and who can contribute significantly to their own healthcare.