BIO 212 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric Overview We often think of ourselves as singular beings. However, many of the cells within our body do not belong to us. In fact, they belong to our guests—microbes
BIO 212 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric
Overview
We often think of ourselves as singular beings. However, many of the cells within our body do not belong to us. In fact, they belong to our guests—microbes. Our body has many environments suitable for microbial communities. Some of these communities benefit us, while others cause us to become ill. Understanding the mechanisms in which microbes colonize, exist, function, and help or disrupt processes within our body is vital in learning more about ourselves and how we can benefit from our guests to keep us healthy.
The final project for this course is the analysis of infectious disease processes. Your analysis will focus on one viral disease and one bacterial disease. You will select a virus and a bacterium that you will be required to research, and you will describe and assess these two microbial selections. Based on the information that you gather, you will submit an analysis on each disease process, along with an analysis of the information available about the diseases and their treatment options based on evidence-based practice (EBP).
Effective treatment and utilization of microbes requires knowledge of the characteristics which can be used for identification, the mechanisms employed for infection, and their use of energy and pathogenesis. This project gives you the opportunity to describe the traits which make your microbial selection virulent, and it also allows you to detect what their Achilles’ heels may be, and how you can use this information when considering pharmaceutical interventions. In addition to your research, you will be asked to evaluate whether current practices are effective. Use what you have learned throughout the course to provide recommendations. Your analysis should be written assuming your conclusions will be reviewed by epidemiologists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The project is divided into two milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two and Five. The final project will be submitted in Module Seven. In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
• BIO-212-01: Describe characteristics and pathogenesis of microorganisms for identifying disease presentation
• BIO-212-02: Explain how the basic principles of antimicrobial therapy promote patient-care outcomes
• BIO-212-03: Evaluate the effectiveness of current protective and preventative measures for the purpose of reducing infection and disease transmission
• BIO-212-04: Recommend evidence-based preventative strategies to address infectious diseases within an at-risk population
• BIO-212-05: Analyze how immune response can be manipulated for disease prevention
Prompt
You will choose one viral disease and one bacterial disease from the list in the Top Worldwide and U.S. Infectious Diseases document. Submit an analysis including disease pathology, disease management and pharmacological impact, immune response, and prevention strategies.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed. Most of the critical elements align with a particular course outcome (shown in brackets).
I. Disease Pathology
A. Describe the characteristics of infectious agent causing diseases, including structure and toxicities. [BIO-212-01]
B. Describe lab tests used for identification of the chosen organisms. [BIO-212-01]
C. Explain the mechanisms in which the diseases interfere with normal pathophysiology. Be sure to describe how the infectious agents enter the cells and establish infection in the nucleus. [BIO-212-01]
D. Identify signs and symptoms of disease presentation for clinical diagnostics in support of therapeutic interventions for both diseases. [BIO212-01]
E. Describe which populations are most at risk for developing the diseases, and why. As you examine epidemiological trends, discuss how ethnographic factors (e.g., race, age, and socioeconomic class) increase risk. [BIO-212-04]
F. Describe the significance and impact of the diseases on the overall communities/at large, explaining how the communities are altered. BIO-
212-04]
II. Disease Management and Pharmacological Impact
A. Describe pharmacological and nonpharmacological current treatment trends used to control microbial growth for each disease, and explain how such treatments promote patient care. [BIO-212-02]
B. Determine which class of drug has the most evidence to support its use in the pharmacological treatment of each disease, providing rationale. [BIO-212-02]
C. Illustrate the mechanisms and principles these pharmacological treatments use to combat infection. [BIO-212-02]
III. Immune Response
A. Compare innate and adaptive responses of the immune system for how it reacts to the bacteria and virus of choice. [BIO-212-05]
B. Determine how microbes are detected by and adapt to the immune system for each disease. [BIO-212-05] C. Explain how the immune response can be manipulated to mitigate the infections. [BIO-212-05]
IV. Prevention Strategies
A. Describe current steps that are taken for prevention of infection of the diseases. [BIO-212-03]
B. Explain how preventative and protective measures are applied to effectively prevent or lessen infection of the diseases, and support your explanation with research. [BIO-212-03]
C. Explain how preventative and protective measures can be enhanced for each disease to effectively reduce infection rates and disease transmission, and support your explanation with research. [BIO-212-03]
D. Recommend prevention programs that can be implemented for the affected populations, and support your recommendations with research. [BIO-212-04]
Milestones
Milestone One: Viral and Bacterial Community Impact Summary
In Module Two, you will submit a viral and bacterial community impact summary, in which you will describe the impact of the two diseases on a community, identify signs and symptoms of diseases’ presentation, and describe strategies for preventing these diseases. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two: Disease Pathology, Management, and Pharmacological Impact Summary
In Module Five, you will submit a disease pathology, management, and pharmacological impact summary based on your two chosen diseases. Your summary should explain the characteristics of the infectious agent causing the diseases, lab tests used for identification, and the mechanism in which the diseases interfere with normal pathophysiology. You will also describe current treatment trends used in the management of the diseases, identify which class of drug has the most evidence to support its use in the pharmacological treatments, and illustrate the mechanism the pharmacological treatments use to combat infection. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.
Final Submission: Analysis of Infectious Disease Processes
In Module Seven, you will submit your final project. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.
Final Project Rubric
What to Submit: Your analysis should be between 6 to 8 pages in length (plus a cover page and references) and must be written in APA format. Use double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. The APA Style Basics resource from the Shapiro Library will help you cite sources in APA style, avoid plagiarism, find examples, and learn about APA style in general.
AI Usage
If you use gen AI tools to support your work on this assignment, be sure to follow these AI usage guidelines. You must acknowledge your use of these tools in your work. Guidelines on how to cite AI tools can be found in this Shapiro Library guide.
|
Critical Elements |
Exceeds
Expectations (100%) |
Meets Expectations (85%) |
Partially Meets
Expectations (55%) |
Does Not Meet Expectations
(0%) |
Value |
|
Disease Pathology: Characteristics [BIO-21201] |
Exceeds expectations and provides a detailed and
comprehensive description of characteristics of the infectious agent causing
the diseases, including structure and toxicities |
Describes the characteristics of the infectious agent
causing the diseases, including structure and toxicities |
Describes the characteristics of the infectious agent
causing the diseases, including structure and toxicities, but description is
cursory or illogical or contains inaccuracies, or does not address both
diseases |
Does not describe the characteristics of the infectious
agent causing the diseases, including structure and toxicities |
5.75 |
|
Disease Pathology: Lab Tests [BIO-212-01] |
Exceeds expectations and demonstrates sophisticated
understanding of lab tests used for the identification of the chosen
organisms |
Describes lab tests used for the identification of the
chosen organisms |
Describes lab tests used for the identification of the
chosen organisms, but lab tests described are not appropriate for
identification, or description does not address both diseases |
Does not describe lab tests used for the identification of
the chosen organisms |
5.75 |
|
Disease Pathology: Mechanism [BIO-212-01] |
Exceeds expectations and demonstrates a sophisticated
understanding of the mechanism in which the diseases interfere with normal
pathophysiology |
Explains the mechanism in which the diseases interfere with
normal pathophysiology, describing how the infectious agent enters the cell
and establishes infection in the nucleus |
Explains the mechanism in which the diseases interfere with
normal pathophysiology, but explanation is illogical, contains inaccuracies,
or lacks detail, or does not address both diseases |
Does not explain the mechanism in which the diseases
interfere with normal pathophysiology |
5.75 |
|
Disease Pathology: Signs and Symptoms [BIO-21201] |
Exceeds expectations and makes cogent connections between
signs and symptoms of disease presentation and therapeutic interventions for
both diseases |
Identifies signs and symptoms of disease presentation for
clinical diagnostics in support of therapeutic interventions for both
diseases |
Identifies signs and symptoms of disease presentation for
clinical diagnostics in support of therapeutic interventions, but
identification is illogical or contains inaccuracies, fails to justify
therapeutic interventions, or does not address both diseases |
Does not identify signs and symptoms of disease
presentation for clinical diagnostics in support of therapeutic interventions
|
5.75 |
|
Disease Pathology: At Risk Populations [BIO-212-04] |
Exceeds expectations and makes cogent connections between
at-risk populations and ethnographic factors that increase risk for
developing the diseases |
Describes which populations are most at risk for developing
the diseases and why, supporting the description with a discussion of
ethnographic factors as they increase risk |
Describes which populations are most at risk for developing
the diseases, but description lacks detail or fails to explain how
ethnographic factors increase risk, or description does not address both
diseases |
Does not describe which populations are most at risk for
developing the diseases |
5.75 |
|
Disease Pathology: Significance on Communities [BIO-212-04] |
Exceeds expectations and gives specific, real-world
examples of the significance of the diseases on the communities/at large
|
Describes the significance and impact of the diseases on
the overall communities/at large, explaining how the communities are altered |
Describe the significance and impact of the diseases on the
overall communities/at large, but description is cursory or illogical, fails
to explain how the communities are altered, or does not address both diseases
|
Does not describe the significance and impact of the
disease on the overall communities/at large |
5.75 |
|
Disease
Management and Pharmacological Impact: Treatment Trends [BIO212-02] |
Exceeds expectations and demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the current pharmacological and nonpharmacological
treatment trends used to control microbial growth for each disease, and
explains how they promote patient care |
Describes current pharmacological and nonpharmacological
treatment trends used to control microbial growth for each disease |
Describes current pharmacological and nonpharmacological
treatment trends used to control microbial growth, but description is
cursory, illogical, or fails to address how treatments promote patient care,
or description does not address both diseases |
Does not describe current pharmacological and
nonpharmacological treatment trends used to control microbial growth for each
disease |
5.75 |
|
Disease
Management and Pharmacological Impact: Class of Drug [BIO-212-02] |
Exceeds expectations and
makes cogent connections between the class of drug and its use in pharmacological
treatment of each disease |
Determines
which class of drug has the most evidence to support its use in the
pharmacological treatment of each disease, providing rationale |
Determines which class of drug supports its use in the
pharmacological treatment of each disease, but does not provide sufficient
rationale or does not address both diseases |
Does not determine which
class of drug has the most evidence to support
its use in pharmacological treatment |
5.75 |
|
Disease
Management and Pharmacological Impact: Mechanism and Principles [BIO-212-02] |
Exceeds expectations and illustration presents a
sophisticated demonstration of the mechanism and principles these
pharmacological treatments use to combat infection |
Illustrates the mechanism and principles these
pharmacological treatments use to combat infection |
Illustrates the mechanism
and principles these pharmacological treatments use to combat infection, but illustration is
unclear, lacks detail, or does not address both diseases |
Does not illustrate the mechanism and principles these pharmacological
treatments use to combat infection |
5.75 |
|
Immune
Response: Innate and Adaptive Responses [BIO-212-05] |
Exceeds expectations and makes cogent connections between
innate and adaptive responses of the immune system and how it reacts to the bacteria
and virus of choice |
Compares innate and adaptive responses of the immune system
for how it reacts to the bacteria and virus of choice |
Compares innate
and adaptive responses of the immune system for how it reacts to the bacteria
and virus of choice, but comparison contains inaccuracies, lacks detail, or
does not address both diseases |
Does not
compare innate and adaptive responses of the immune system for how it reacts
to the bacteria and virus of choice |
5.75 |
|
Immune Response: Detection and Adaptation [BIO-212-05] |
Exceeds expectations and
for each disease, demonstrates a
sophisticated understanding of how microbes are detected by and adapt to the
immune system |
For each disease, determines how microbes are detected by
and adapt to the immune system |
Determines how microbes are detected by and adapt to the
immune system, but the explanation is cursory, unclear, or illogical, or does
not address both diseases |
Does not determine how microbes are detected by or adapt to
the immune system |
5.75 |
|
Immune Response: Manipulation [BIO-21205] |
Exceeds expectations and demonstrates a sophisticated
understanding of how the immune response can be manipulated to mitigate the
infections |
Explains how the immune
response can be manipulated to mitigate the infections |
Explains how the immune response can be manipulated to
mitigate the infections, but explanation is unclear, lacks detail, or does
not address both diseases |
Does not explain how the immune response can be manipulated
to mitigate the infections |
5.75 |
|
Prevention Strategies: Current Steps for Prevention [BIO-212-03] |
Exceeds expectations and demonstrates sophisticated
understanding of current steps that are taken for the prevention of infection
of the diseases |
Describes current steps that are taken for prevention of
infection of the diseases |
Describes current steps being taken to prevent the
infection of the diseases, but description is unclear, lacks detail, or does
not address both diseases |
Does not describe current steps being taken for prevention
of infection of the diseases |
5.75 |
|
Prevention Strategies: Preventative and Protective Measures Applied [BIO-212-03] |
Exceeds expectations and uses current and relevant research
to justify the application of preventative and protective measures that are
applied to effectively prevent or lessen infection of the diseases |
Explains how preventative and protective measures are
applied to effectively prevent or lessen infection of the diseases |
Explains how preventative and protective measures are
applied to effectively prevent or lessen infection, but explanation is
illogical, lacks detail, or does not address both diseases |
Does not explain how preventative and protective measures
are applied to effectively prevent or lessen infection of the diseases |
5.75 |
|
Prevention Strategies: Preventative and Protective Measures Enhanced [BIO-212-03] |
Exceeds expectations and uses current and relevant research
to justify how preventative and protective measures may be enhanced for each
disease |
Explains how preventative and protective measures can be
enhanced for each disease to effectively reduce infection rates and disease
transmission and supports explanation with research |
Explains how preventative and protective measures can be
enhanced for each disease to effectively reduce infection rates and disease
transmission, but explanation is unclear or illogical, is not supported by
research, or does not address both diseases |
Does not
explain how preventative and protective measures can be enhanced for each
disease to effectively reduce rates and disease transmission |
5.75 |
|
Prevention Strategies: Prevention Programs Implemented
[BIO-212-04] |
Exceeds expectations and uses current and relevant research
to justify recommended prevention programs that are appropriate for the
affected populations |
Recommends prevention programs that can be implemented for
the affected populations and supports recommendations with research |
Recommends prevention programs that can be implemented for
the affected populations, but recommendations are illogical or are not
supported by research, or recommendations do not address both diseases |
Does not recommend prevention programs that can be
implemented for the affected populations |
5.75 |
|
Clear Communication |
Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language
that promotes a thorough understanding |
Consistently and effectively communicates in an organized
way to a specific audience |
Shows
progress toward meeting expectations, but communication is inconsistent or
ineffective in a way that negatively impacts understanding |
Shows no evidence of consistent, effective, or organized
communication |
8 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
100% |
