Assistant Professor Nicole Mideo (standing) with students from evolutionary medicine course

(photo by Diana Tyszko)

New course attracts increasing number of students

Nicole Mideo, an assistant professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, introduced a new evolutionary medicine course into the department’s curriculum. Nicole’s enthusiasm is one reason the course (EEB325H1F) is so popular.

Nicole’s aim is to awaken the students to a broader perspective – that understanding a disease requires both knowledge of both proximate mechanisms of, and evolutionary explanations for, disease. A portion of the course is devoted to considering how human evolution might have affected susceptibility to disease; the balance explores the evolution of parasites and pathogens that cause disease and how humans’ interventions may change them. It has explored malaria and its prospects for vaccination, as well as cancer and how cells can become drug resistant, considering whether the goal is to improve health or eradicate cancer.

See full article in U of T News