FRS 002W —
Sec. 001 —
(2 units) — CRN 53620 — M 4:10-6:00 pm — 263 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: 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 mechanism
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.