BSc and Master of Nutrition and Dietetics - Infectious Diseases in Darlington Australia | The University of Sydney

Infectious diseases emerge from complex interactions between microbial pathogens and their hosts. The Infectious Diseases major offers an interdisciplinary academic journey that focuses on how pathogens engage with human hosts across various scales - from molecular and cellular interactions to individual patient cases and broader community impacts.

This program first establishes the significance of infectious diseases within the 'One Health' framework, highlighting the interconnected relationships between human, animal, and environmental health. Core to this understanding is examining microorganisms - including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protists - which play roles in both maintaining health and causing illness. The curriculum explores the cellular and molecular processes that facilitate disease development, with special attention to pathogen characteristics: their virulence factors, ability to bypass human immune defenses, capacity for tissue damage, antimicrobial resistance, and emerging control strategies. The program further investigates disease occurrence patterns and the epidemiology of infectious disease outbreaks in populations.