LQB694 Infectious Disease Outbreaks

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Gardens Point, Internal

Overview

Infectious diseases continue to be a major public health concern in Australia and globally. The emergence of drug-resistant bacteria and viruses that cause disease outbreaks and epidemics is a significant global health burden. Microbiologists play an essential role in the detection and management of infectious diseases, they research the pathogenesis and epidemiology of microbial pathogens, and develop new diagnostic, preventative and therapeutic technologies to prepare for disease outbreaks. You will apply your knowledge and understanding of infectious diseases to recent, real world disease outbreak cases.

This unit will also expose you to researchers and infectious disease experts from universities, hospitals, and government organisations that deal with infectious diseases on a daily basis and will provide you with insights into career opportunities in this field.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Apply knowledge of viral and bacterial detection techniques to the development, management and implementation of a diagnostic plan to identify unknown disease agents.
2. Generate, critically analyse, interpret and communicate experimental data in a written format that is in keeping with current standards of scientific publication.
3. Demonstrate information retrieval and critical analysis skills to understand and collate scientific literature, and present your collated analysis in both written and oral forms.
4. Demonstrate advanced collaborative and teamwork skills for problem solving, project management, critical analysis and trouble shooting in both a practical laboratory setting, and in the preparation of written and oral scientific material.
5. Apply your accumulated knowledge of infectious disease diagnostics, treatment, control and surveillance, to develop a comprehensive response plan for infectious disease outbreaks.

Content

Learning Approaches

This unit will be team taught and will therefore employ a variety of teaching and learning models. Learning activities will be supported by academic staff, however you will also be provided with self-directed individual and team-based learning activities designed to assist you in developing independent thinking and self-monitored learning.

In this unit the tutorials and workshops will be closely aligned and support the assessment items. The content of tutorials and workshops will provide you with the information you need to successfully complete the assessment items. During tutorials, you will have the opportunity to develop and refine your knowledge through open group discussions with your class and the academic or guest speaker. During the workshops you will further develop your critical thinking and analytical skills through a series of exercises that will enable you to successfully complete the assessment items. These will include the development of diagnostic strategies for infectious diseases, critical analysis of scientific literature, analysis of infectious disease outbreak data and preparation of outbreak response plans. The workshops will allow you to discuss and develop your own independent ideas with the support of academic staff. The workshops will be once a week, except for the weeks in which the practical laboratory sessions will be conducted in place of workshops.

The practical sessions will allow you to apply and develop your previous knowledge of infectious disease diagnostics in a laboratory setting. Teamwork in addition to independent practical skills will be encouraged by laboratory teaching staff. You will learn how to apply your knowledge of infectious disease diagnostics to new situations and will develop problem-solving skills specific to a laboratory setting. You will develop the written and oral skills required to work as an effective team member in a professional manner.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

You will be given both individual and group feedback, as appropriate, for each formative assessment item. This will be delivered in class during workshops and tutorials. Each summative assessment item will be marked and returned to you during the semester. Feedback from earlier assessment items will inform you how to improve the outcome of the final assessment item due late in semester.

Assessment

Overview

Summative and formative assessment:

As this is a capstone unit, assessment is assignment-based and designed to encourage independent thought and critical thinking. There are three key concepts that will be examined: 1. The design and implementation of practical laboratory skills for the clinical and molecular diagnosis of infectious disease agents; 2. Critical analysis and the ability to summarise findings from the literature; 3. The ability to capture knowledge concerning various aspects of infectious disease diagnostics, treatment, containment, control, and surveillance and apply this to a holistic disease outbreak response plan. These three concepts will be examined as three assessment items that will be staged through the semester, such that the feedback you receive from earlier assessments will support your success in later assessments. This will allow you to identify your strengths and weaknesses concerning knowledge, critical thinking and problem solving, scientific writing, data analysis and presentation, and improve your skills through the semester.

The first summative assessment requires you to prepare a poster presentation or a slide pack as a group, summarising a recent infectious disease outbreak. You will be able to choose your topic as a group and workshops will provide assistance in the development of your poster presentations. You will be provided with feedback on your progress by staff during the workshops which will be designed to develop your skills in analysing and summarising the literature concerning infectious disease outbreaks. You will be assessed as a group and individually on your visual oral presentation to staff and your peers.

The second summative assessment requires you to develop a diagnostic plan and genomic analysis for unknown infectious disease agents, and then implement this plan in the practical laboratory sessions. A draft diagnostic plan will be developed during workshop sessions and you will be given feedback from staff. This will allow you to develop and improve your diagnostic plan prior to applying this plan in a practical laboratory setting. This assessment will be in the form of a scientific paper reporting your methods and findings of the laboratory investigation of an unknown pathogen.

The third summative assessment item will bring together all the knowledge and skills you have acquired from the tutorials, workshops and also the previous formative and summative assessments. You will analyse an infectious disease outbreak scenario and develop a response plan that will simulate the approach taken by governments and public health agencies facing a disease epidemic. The workshops and the tutorials provided by academics, researchers and other infectious disease experts will arm you with the knowledge you require to successfully complete this assessment item. This assessment will be submitted as a written report.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Oral Presentation

A group oral slide pack presentation summarising key aspects of a recent, real world, infectious disease outbreak. Group and Individual marks will be assigned. You will work in groups of students to prepare the presentation and give an individual oral presentation on a section of the slide pack. This assessment is authentic as oral presentations are common in many professional settings, including government and regulatory bodies, symposia and conferences, and public health organisations such as WHO.

Assessment: Research Paper

A written scientific paper in which you will provide the diagnostic plan, methods and results of your practical laboratory investigation of infectious disease agents.

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Assessment: Disease Outbreak Response Plan

You will be provided with data simulating a real world, infectious disease outbreak. You will analyse and describe the outbreak, and prepare a response plan as typically produced by governments and public health agencies.

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions. 

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Requirements to Study

Costs

Cost of lab gowns and safety protection glasses are the students responsibility.

Resources

Resource Materials

Safety and protective equipment

Practicals will require personal protective equipment supplied by each student:
1. Laboratory Coat - 100% cotton or polyester/cotton mix (65% polyester is max. allowable).
2. Safety eye protection glasses - selected and used in accordance with AS1336, AS1337 and AS1338.
3. Fully enclosed non-slip shoes

Risk Assessment Statement

This unit includes a laboratory component. In order that you become proficient in necessary practical skills, you will be trained in the handling of equipment, materials and specimens normally associated with this discipline. You are required to view a Health & Safety Induction video and complete an online health and safety quiz prior to being permitted into the laboratory, to access please follow this link Health & Safety Induction. A passing score of 10/10 is required and will be checked prior to entry to the first laboratory session. You may repeat the quiz until this score is achieved. You are also referred to the Faculty of Health's Health & Safety Web Site for further information.

If you have an underlying health condition you are encouraged to consult the lecturer in charge of the unit, as you may be required to take additional precautions on occasions.