A six-part series taught by Dr. James T. Watson, curator of bioarchaeology, and Dr. Keith Maggert, associate professor of molecular and cellular biology.
Image of medieval "plague doctor" in full garb, and image of an ancient Egyptian mummy showing signs of Pott's Disease.
When
January 11, 18, 25, & February 1, 8, 15, 2025
10:00am-12:00pm (Arizona time).
In person (full) or on Zoom.
This ASM Master Class examines past and present conditions of several diseases, how they evolved, and how they impacted human groups in the past and present. We will examine cancer, malaria, HIV, and COVID-19 as examples of how pathogen-human interactions can create maladaptive environments.
Session 1: Introduction to Ancient Diseases and Modern Perspectives
Humans have remained essentially unchanged for tens of thousands of years: how have our pests, plagues, and problems fared?
Session 2: The History of Cancer
Cancer is as old as humanity: how have people of prehistory, ancient history, and recent and modern times adapted to its presence?
Session 3: The Modern Scourge of Cancer
The War on Cancer, the Cancer Moonshot, Radiation therapy, Chemotherapy, Immune-therapy: is cancer a death sentence, or have we learned to live with it?
Session 4: Malaria in the Ancient World
Malaria is an ancient parasite, but only managed to become epidemic when human adaptations created the ideal conditions and unwitting population of hosts: has malaria evolved or humans adapted to it?
Session 5: Malaria, Natural Selection, and Modern Consequences
We’re part of the grand game: human biology and behaviors force diseases to evolve, but how do diseases force us to evolve?
Session 6: Emerging Diseases and the Future of Humanity
HIV and COVID-19 have evolved in our lifetimes: how did they arise from the complex interactions of environment, human behavior, and pathogen?
$200 in person (full)
$150 on Zoom (plenty of room!)
Amount paid over $120 is a tax-deductible gift.
About your Instructors
James T. Watson, Ph.D., is Associate Director and Curator of Bioarchaeology at the Arizona State Museum and Professor in the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 2005. His research examines health and disease in prehistoric populations through their skeletal remains, in particular, from their teeth. Much of this work has focused on understanding the decline in human health associated with the adoption of agriculture in the North American Desert West. He has run long-standing field projects in northern Mexico, Arizona, and South America.
Keith A. Maggert, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, specializing in genetics, cancer, and gene function. He uses simple “model” organisms, like fruit flies and yeast, to understand how mutations can lead to human disease. He earned his B.Sc. in biochemistry from the University of California Santa Cruz in 1992, and his Ph.D. from University of California San Diego in 2000 while working at the Salk Institute. He did his postdoctoral work at the University of Utah and the Stowers Institute and was hired as assistant professor of biology at Texas A&M University. In 2015, he came to the University of Arizona.