LMP440H1 – Mechanisms of Host-Microbe Interactions

Course description

You will learn about the mechanisms that allow microbial pathogens to cause disease and the host to detect infection, mount an inflammatory response and resolve the infection. We will discuss primary research articles.

Topics include:

commensal and pathogenic bacteria
microbe recognition
programmed cell death
immunometabolism
inflammatory diseases.

Course coordinators

Dr. Jeremy Mogridge

Office address: 1 King’s College Circle, MSB Room 6306
jeremy.mogridge@utoronto.ca

Dr. Stephen Girardin

Office address: 1 King’s College Circle, MSB Room 6304
stephen.girardin@utoronto.ca

Teaching assistant

Adrienne Ranger

adrienne.ranger@mail.utoronto.ca

Term	Fall 2025
Class time	Wednesday 1 - 3 pm
Office hours	Contact TA or Course Coordinators

Course details

Hours: 24L
Prerequisite: (IMM340H1, IMM350H1)/ (IMM341H1, IMM351H1) /
(MGY377H1, MGY378H1) / LMP310H1. Pre-requisite waiver requests must be made to the academic unit (lmp.undergraduate@utoronto.ca).
Exclusions: LMP402H1, LMP436H1
Recommended preparation: None
Distribution requirements: Science
Breadth requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)
Enrolment limits: 30 students

Student evaluation

Midterm: 45% - due date 15 October, 2025

Assignment: 10% - due date 8 October, 2025

Final Exam: 45%

See information on Academic Integrity

Schedule for Fall 2025

Lecture topics are subject to change. We will list finalized lecture topics in the official syllabus

Date	Topic	Instructor
September 3, 2025	Introduction to infectious disease	Dr. Stephen Girardin
September 10, 2025	Mechanisms in bacterial pathogenesis	Dr. Jeremy Mogridge
September 17, 2025	Pathogen detection I - Inflammasomes	Dr. Jeremy Mogridge
September 24, 2025	Pathogen detection II -- cGAS-STING	Dr. Justin Meade
October 1, 2025	Pathogen detection III -- NOD1, NOD2 and PRMs	Dr. Stephen Girardin
October 8, 2025	Research article critique (Assignment due: 10%)	Adrienne Ranger
October 15, 2025	Midterm Exam (Lectures 1 - 5: 45%)
October 22, 2025	Host defense mechanisms	Dr. Stephen Girardin
November 5, 2025	Host-microbe interactions and inflammatory disease	Dr. Stephen Girardin
November 12, 2025	Cell death mechanisms	Dr. Jeremy Mogridge
November 19, 2025	Immunometabolism	Dr. Jeremy Mogridge
November 26, 2025	Resolution of inflammation	Dr. Jeremy Mogridge