Course Outline
LFS262 Medical Microbiology
Course Coordinator:Martina Jelocnik (mjelocni@usc.edu.au) School:School of Science, Technology and Engineering
2026Trimester 2
UniSC Sunshine Coast |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
What is this course about?
Description
Medical microbiology describes the relationships between microbes and our lives including harmful as well as beneficial effects of microorganisms. You will learn about infectious diseases, their aetiology and clinical manifestation, transmission routes, treatment/techniques in detection and identification of pathogenic microorganisms. The course investigates microbial diseases of the various systems with practical sessions on isolation and identification procedures of pathogenic microorganisms in clinical samples and their antibiotic susceptibility.
How will this course be delivered?
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – asynchronous learning materials | 2hrs | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – on campus tutorial/workshop | 1hr | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Laboratory 1 – This is an intensive practical classes during the trimester break.It consists of 4 successive days (3 hours each). On campus laboratory. Due to converting labs to PC2, these labs will be held during the mid trimester break. | 12hrs | Break week | Once Only |
| Laboratory 2 – There will be an extra one hours catch up to discuss the results of practical on day 4 | 1hr | Break week | Once Only |
Course Topics
Introduction to Pathogens and Communicable Diseases 1-Principles of disease and epidemiology, nosocomial Infections and outbreak investigation, 2- Microbial mechanism of pathogenicity (how microbes enter a host and damage host cells) 3-Innate immunity (Non-specific defences of the host against pathogens), 4-Antimicrobial drugs (antibiotics, their spectrum), Human diseases caused by microorganisms 5-Microbial diseases of the skin and eye 6- Infections of the upper respiratory system, 7-Infections of the lower respiratory system, 8-Microbial diseases of the digestive system, 9-Microbial diseases of the Urinary and Reproductive systems, 10-Microbial diseases of the nervous system 11-Microbial diseases of cardiovascular and lymphatic system
What level is this course?
200 Level (Developing)
What is the unit value of this course?
12 units
How does this course contribute to my learning?
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
| 1 | Analyse and evaluate data regarding pathogens, their pathogenic attributes, and host's immune responses to infectious diseases as well as mechanism of action and function of antibiotics | Knowledgeable |
| 2 | List the aetiology of the most communicable diseases and their products | Knowledgeable |
| 3 | Describe the rationale and the basis of strategies that are used for prevention, control and treatment of infectious diseases. | Empowered |
| 4 | Identify and apply techniques that are used for laboratory isolation, identification and characterisation of pathogenic microorganisms | Empowered |
| 5 | Describe major mechanisms of interactions between microbes and human host and the types of diseases caused by microorganisms | Knowledgeable |
Am I eligible to enrol in this course?
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Pre-requisites
MBT263 or LFS261 or MEP263
Co-requisites
Not applicable
Anti-requisites
MEP252 or MEP253 or MBT253
Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)
General knowledge about the structure of microorganisms, their growth requirement as well as basic skills in cultivation and aseptic transfer of bacteria
Microcredential Information
Not applicable
How am I going to be assessed?
Grading Scale
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Details of early feedback on progress
The course will include an early formative assessment on week four. The formative quiz will be based on materials covered during the first three weeks and discussed in detail in tutorial classes. Responses to early quiz will be peer reviewed to evaluate students' academic progress, including identifying the need for additional support.
Assessment tasks
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1a | Quiz/zes | Individual | 0% | 20 minutes |
Week 4 | In Class |
| All | 1b | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 25% | 1 hour |
Week 7 | In Class |
| All | 1c | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 25% | 1 hour |
Week 10 | In Class |
| All | 2 | Oral | Group | 20% | 12 minutes |
Refer to Format | In Class |
| All | 3 | Examination - Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 30% | 2 hours |
Exam Period | Exam Venue |
| All - Assessment Task 1a:Early quiz | |||||||
| Goal: | To give you feedback and assess your ability to describe how an infectious disease develops and spreads in the community and a hospital setting and how the science of epidemiology helps to identify the routes of spreading infection. |
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| Product: | Quiz/zes | ||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||
| Format: | A 20 minute, in class multiple choice quiz |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | |||||||
| All - Assessment Task 1b:Mid Trimester exam | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | To assess your ability to understand the basic mechanisms by which microbes interact with the host, host immune response towards microbial infection, routes of disease transmission, principal of antimicrobial agents and their mechanisms of actions |
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| Product: | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | A 1 hour, in class multiple choice questions |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Applying technologies |
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| All - Assessment Task 1c:Practical lab exam | |||||||
| Goal: | To assess your knowledge of the theory that underpins the practical procedures required for performing and processing microbiological tests, safely and professionally, in a clinical Microbiology laboratory. . |
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| Product: | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | ||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||
| Format: | Format: This 1 hour assessment will be in the format of short essay and multiple choice questions |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | |||||||
| All - Assessment Task 2:Oral presentation | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | To assess your ability to professionally introduce a selected infectious disease to a scientific audience and within a time limit |
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| Product: | Oral | ||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | You will be working as a team (2-4 per team). Presentation will be in the format of a power point (with or without video clip) describing the aetiology of the disease, clinical manifestation of the disease, epidemiology and routes of transmission, laboratory identification, treatment and prevention of the disease, all within 12 minutes. Students may also choose to describe the theory and practice of automated microbial identification systems. A list of topics to be chosen by students for their oral presentation will be presented to student on Canvas on week 1. All members of the team should contribute to the oral presentation equally and present equally. Presentations to occur in Weeks 11 and 12 |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Final exam | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | To be able to describe major mechanisms of interactions between microbes and human host the rationale and the basis of strategies that are used for prevention, control and treatment of infectious disease. |
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| Product: | Examination - Centrally Scheduled | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | The exam will be based on the materials covered in course as described in the prescribed text book (between weeks 7 and 12). The exam questions will be a combination of multiple choice, fill-in and short answer questions and will be during the examination period at the end of trimester for 2 hours. |
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| Criteria: |
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Directed study hours
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
What resources do I need to undertake this course?
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
Prescribed text(s) or course reader
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Required | Gerard J. Tortora, Berdell R. Funke, Christine L. Case | 0 | MICROBIOLOGY | 13th Edition | n/a |
Specific requirements
It is the responsibility of students to attend practical classes on time and have lab coat and proper clothing e.g. proper shoes. Students who do not have lab coat or proper shoes will not be allowed to enter the practical lab classes.
How are risks managed in this course?
What administrative information is relevant to this course?
Assessment: Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Assessment: Additional Requirements
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct
Assessment: Submission penalties
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
Links to relevant University policy and procedures
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
- Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
- Review of Assessment and Final Grades
- Supplementary Assessment
- Central Examinations
- Deferred Examinations
- Student Conduct
- Students with a Disability
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
Student Charter
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.
General Enquiries
For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.
For other enquiries or to access support, please contact Student Central: