The College of Public Health will be introducing new special topic classes this summer for interested students.

There are five new special topic classes for summer 2013. These classes are Immunity to Infectious Diseases; ObamaCare: Socialized Medicine or Better Health; Environmental Regulation: The Case of Fracking; Disasters, Terrorism and Emergencies: The Public Health Response; and Injury and Violence Prevention.

Mark James, chairperson of the Department for Environmental Health Sciences, will be instructing the Immunity to Infectious Diseases class.

“This course is designed for students of public health, nursing, and the basic biomedical sciences who are interested in a current overview of immunity to infectious diseases,” James said. “I will discuss the basic mechanisms of immunity to infection — viral, bacterial and parasitic — with special emphasis on diseases of global importance: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.”

John Staley, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, will be instructing the Disasters, Terrorism and Emergencies: The Public Health Response summer class. Staley said the course looks at what events such as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have taught people about the implications for public health in terms of preparing for and responding to an emergency event.

“Students taking this novel and innovative course will learn about the diversity of roles that public health practitioners play during a disaster or emergency event, as well as the various stakeholders engaged in these events,” Staley said.

Interested students can go online to the university class registration and find the courses listed under Public Health.

Contact Amanda Knauer at [email protected].