Bioterrorism forum showcases innovative life sciences course

By Lorraine Cichowski
VCU News Services

RICHMOND, Va. – Bioterrorism was the topic of discussion for today’s hour-long special session of Life Sciences 101, a new and unique course for freshmen science majors at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Thomas F. Huff, Ph.D., VCU vice provost for life sciences and professor of microbiology and immunology, presided over the bioterrorism forum, which featured lectures by three VCU professors involved with scientific endeavors related to bioterrorism. The panelists: Richard P. Wenzel, M.D., M.Sc., epidemiologist and chair of internal medicine at VCU; Denise A. Pettit, Ph.D., adjunct professor of microbiology and immunology at VCU and special projects lead scientist at the Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services, and Karen Kester, Ph.D., entomologist and assistant professor of biology at VCU.

Life Sciences 101 is a key ingredient of VCU’s commitment to prepare students for exploding growth in careers linked to the deciphering of the human encyclopedia of genes. The 250 students in the inaugural class have been attending lectures this semester by distinguished faculty members from both campuses of the university: the Medical College of Virginia Campus and the Academic Campus.

The idea of a course to expose first-year students to faculty stars from both campuses is the brainchild of VCU President Eugene P. Trani. It is part of his pledge to position VCU in the forefront of American universities in teaching such disciplines as biotechnology, forensics, ecology and bioinformatics—the analysis of genomic information by large computers—that are likely to dominate 21st century scientific learning.

"Lectures by top faculty members and researchers on both campuses expose these freshmen in a positive way to a world they ordinarily would not experience during their undergraduate years," Trani said. "And having undergraduates in their classes enables senior MCV Campus faculty, who ordinarily teach classes only in the medical, dental and pharmacy schools and to graduate students, to become involved in a way unique to VCU with young people who are exploring careers in medicine and other life sciences disciplines."

In addition to hearing twice-weekly lectures in the Medical Sciences Building on the historic downtown MCV Campus, the students delve further into topics raised in the lectures through small group sessions in the new Eugene P. and Lois E. Trani Center for Life Sciences on the Academic Campus, one mile away.

Lecturers include the chair of surgery, the chief of the cardiac implant unit, the director of the Center for Environmental Studies, the director of the VCU Institute for Structural Biology and the co-directors of the Virginia Institute of Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics. They cover topics such as the ethical conduct of research, designing new medicines, the roles of genes in disease and behavior, the central nervous system, telemedicine, heart disease and transplantation, immunology, bioengineering, ecology, physical therapy and clinical laboratory sciences.

Dr. Huff, who in May was named to the new position of vice provost for life sciences, one of only two such positions in U.S. universities, said the course "is a survey of the modern life sciences, using VCU’s areas of strengths – the best of the best" of VCU’s health sciences faculty members as teachers. The co-director of the course is Dr. Joseph Chinnici, associate professor of biology and recipient of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences 2001 Distinguished Teaching Award.

A major thrust of Life Sciences 101, according to Huff, is to introduce students to a new way of thinking about the life sciences by emphasizing the concept of biological complexity. Traditionally, he said, scientists have tried to understand biological systems by studying their individual parts, such as organs, tissues, cells and components of cells. But biological systems are more complex than knowledge of their parts suggests.

A mission of Life Sciences 101, Huff said, is to explore that complexity, while at the same time introducing students to a wide variety of life sciences issues and careers.