Advanced Microbiology & Immunology (MICR2900)

Course overview

To provide an advanced version of MICR2000 Microbiology and Immunology for the B Advanced Science Cohort. In particular this will involve an advanced research laboratory practical component (and accompanying assessment) that is not offered to MICR2000 students.

Microorganisms encompass the greatest evolutionary and metabolic diversity of all living organisms on the planet. Microbiology is the study of these microorganisms which individually cannot be seen without the aid of a microscope. They include the prokaryotic cellular organisms such as the archaea and bacteria, eukaryotic organisms such as yeasts and filamentous fungi, and the non-cellular viruses. Microbes were the first forms of biological life to evolve over 3.5 billion years ago and continue to shape and sustain the environment. Some microorganisms are serious pathogens of humans, animals, or plants, but others have beneficial biotechnological applications in industry, agriculture, and waste water treatment. In this introductory course you will explore the diversity of microorganisms, their cellular biology, growth and nutrition, metabolism, and basic genetics. You will learn of the role of microorganisms in disease, as well as their ecology and applications in biotechnology. You will also gain an insight into the immune response to infection by studying the innate, humoral and cellular immune systems and their functions in health and disease. You will undertake laboratory experiments to demonstrate principles learned in the lectures, and gain practical skills to aseptically handle cultures safely for isolation and identification. This course provides the fundamental knowledge and skills needed to proceed further in microbiology, but also for all courses or disciplines involving molecular biology and biotechnology.

While MICR2900 will share the same foundation as MICR2000, there will be an additional module of hands-on laboratory research that ties into assessment tasks tailored specifically for this advanced version of the course. ﾠThe laboratory skills and activities covered in this module will align directly to third-level courses in biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, biotechnology, immunology, and microbiology majors.

Course requirements

Assumed background

It is expected students have completed BIOL1020 (a prerequisite)ﾠso they are familiar with some of the fundamental concepts in prokaryotic and eukaryotic biology. ﾠSome concepts from BIOL1030 will also be covered in this course.

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

BIOL1020 + (BIOC2000 or BIOC2900)

Recommended prerequisites

We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:

BIOC2000

Recommended companion or co-requisite courses

We recommend completing the following courses at the same time:

BIOL2202 and BIOL2902

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

MICR2000 (co-taught)

Jointly taught details

This course is jointly-taught with:

Lectures, assessment and, in some instances, practicals may be shared between MICR2900, MICR6000 and MICR2000

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Check your online timetable regularly.

Aims and outcomes

• To give an introduction to Microbiology with an overview of microorganisms, structure and function, growth and nutrition, metabolism, evolution and ecology, microbial diversity and biodiscovery.

• To introduce environmental microbiology, which examines the role of microorganisms in environmental sustainability and biotechnology.

• To explore the role of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites) in infectious diseases and give students an appreciation of the mechanisms employed by microorganisms to cause disease as well as understanding of how infectious diseases are controlled and prevented.

• To give an introduction to immunology with examples that demonstrate the role of the immune system in human health and disease.

• To provide a curriculum informed by active research in key modules: environmental microbiology, virology, bacteriology, immunology. Students will actively participate in undergraduate research experiences in this course.

• To provide practical sessions that demonstrate microbiological and immunological principles and teach students current techniques in these disciplines.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Laboratory Practicals

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Activity/ Performance

Category

Notebook/ Logbook, Practical/ Demonstration

Weight

15%

Due date

15/08/2024 - 18/10/2024

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

See TASK DESCRIPTION for instructions on how to apply for a practical absence. 

Science Communication Assessment

• Hurdle

Mode

Activity/ Performance, Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Presentation

Weight

35%

Due date

Podcast 2 pm 28/08/2024

Report 2 pm 23/10/2024

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Submit your assessment through the course Turnitin submission point in Blackboard. Before submitting your assessment item to Turnitin please name your file in the following way. FAMILY NAME_GivenName_StudentID_CourseCode_AssignmentName For example: Bob Smith (ID: 54329876) would name his ABCD1234 essay 1 in the following way. SMITH_Bob_54329876_ABCD1234_Essay1

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Applications for Extensions

Information on applying for an extension can be found here: my.UQ Applying for an extension.

Extension applications must be received by the assessment due date and time.

If you are unable to provide approved documentation to support your application by the due date and time, you must still submit your application by the deadline but with an attached Word document that outlines why you cannot provide the approved documentation by the deadline. You will then need to acquire and upload the approved documentation to your request within 24 hours. Please note: When an extension request has been submitted and is pending, students are expected to continue to work on the assessment item, with the aim of submitting by the requested due date and time.

Prolonged Absence

If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 14 days, we advise you to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses this semester.

Extensions with Student Access Plans (SAP)

For extensions up to 7 days, your SAP is all that is required as documentation to support your application. However, extension requests longer than 7 days (for any one assessment item) will require the submission of additional supporting documentation e.g. a medical certificate.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date. For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period). 10% will be deducted per day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point your submission will receive a mark of zero (0) unless an extension has been approved.

In most instances one or more hurdles will apply to your assessment item so you will need to submit it to fulfil the requirements of the course regardless of how late it is and the mark you are likely to be awarded.

End of semester Exam

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

50%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

Assessment Hurdles

In order to pass this course, you must meet ALL of the following requirements (if you do not meet these requirements, the maximum grade you will receive will be a 3):

1. You must obtain an overall course mark of 50% or more; and

2. You must obtain an overall mark of 40% or more on the end of semester exam; and

3. You must obtain a minimum weighted average mark of 40% across all other non-examination course assessment items; and

4. You must attend 100% of the laboratory component of the course and submit ALL laboratory assessment

The maximum grade you will receive will be a 2 if you:

1. Obtain an weighted average markﾠof 30% or lesson the end of semester exam.

2. Obtain a weighted average mark of 30% or less on the non-examination course assessment items and learning tasks

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment. Refer to my.UQ for information on supplementary assessment and how to apply. 

Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.  

If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met.  

Supplementary assessment can take any form (such as a written report, oral presentation, examination or other appropriate assessment) and may test specific learning outcomes tailored to the individual student, or all learning outcomes. 

To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment. 

Additional assessment information

Assessment Submission

All submission times are listed in Brisbane time.

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure the on time, correct and complete submission of all assessment items.

Please ensure you receive and save the submission confirmation for all submitted items, you may be asked to produce this as evidence of your submission.

Turnitin

By submitting work through Turnitin you are deemed to have accepted the following declaration “I certify that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted, either previously or concurrently, in whole or in part, to this University or any other educational institution, for marking or assessment”.

All students must ensure they receive their Turnitin receipt on submission of any assessments. A valid Turnitin receipt will be the only evidence accepted if assessments are missing. Without evidence, the assessment will receive the standard late penalty, or after seven days, will receive zero. In the case of a Blackboard outage, please contact the Course Coordinator as soon as possible to confirm the outage with ITS.

Assessment/Attendance

Please notify your Course Coordinator as soon as you become aware of any issue that may affect your ability to meet the assessment/attendance requirements of the course. Theﾠmy.UQﾠwebsite and the Electronic Course Profile (ECP) for your course also provide information about your course requirements, the rules associated with your courses and services offered by the University.

A note for repeating students in this course

Any student who enrols in a courseﾠmust notﾠbe given exemption or partial credit from their previous attempt(s) for any individual piece of assessment.ﾠInstead, the student must successfully complete all of the learning activities and assessment items within the study period of enrolmentﾠ(PPL 3.10.02 Assessment - Procedures Section 3.1.4 Assessment integrity).

If the same assessment item is set from one year to the next, repeating students are allowed to submit the same work they submitted in previous attempts at the course. Where possible SCMB recommends that you use the feedback you received in your last attempt to improve parts of the item where you lost marks. Resubmission of an altered or unaltered assessment item by a repeating student (where the same assessment has been set) will not be considered as self-plagiarism.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

Blackboard

Additional supplementary material may be posted on the Blackboard site forﾠMICR2900 at learn.uq.edu.au

Check the Announcements section of the Blackboard site regularly for information updates. The final exams will be the same format as in MICR2000 so please use past exams from MICR2000 for reference.

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Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.

You'll also need to be aware of the following policies and procedures while completing this course:

• Laboratory Occupational Health and Safety