Bergey Lab

Ecological and evolutionary genomics

Evolutionary Medicine

Christina Bergey teaches Evolutionary Medicine (01:447:356) to undergraduate students at Rutgers University during the Fall semester.

If you are a professor interested in a guest lecture on one of the below topics, feel free to reach out.

Course Description

In this course, we examine human health from an evolutionary perspective, exploring the impact that our evolutionary heritage has on modern human diseases, both chronic and infectious. We will learn how the framework of evolutionary biology and modern genetic tools can inform our understanding of issues relevant to clinical and public health. Rather than focus on the immediate mechanisms underlying disease, we will endeavor to understand the ultimate factors that influence susceptibility, such as past natural selection. The course topics are wide-ranging, but particular attention is paid to emerging infectious diseases, as well as non-communicable diseases that may be exacerbated by facets of modern lifestyles.

Through lectures, critical analysis of the primary literature and popular science news, and class discussions, students will learn how evolutionary principles can be practically applied to medicine. Key readings each session will focus on genetic techniques for understanding evolutionary medicine, while additional readings will incorporate perspectives from diverse fields.

By fully participating in this course, students will be able to:

  • appreciate how modern susceptibility to non-communicable and infectious diseases has been influenced by past evolutionary processes;
  • critically evaluate evolutionary hypotheses related to health and medicine, including those found in popular science articles; and
  • know how genetic techniques are applied within an evolutionary framework to understand ultimate reasons for disease.

Topics and Select Resources:

Topics organized into modules below. Click to expand each topic for readings and videos used in the class. Freely available publications are indicated with an [Open Access] label.

Module 1 – Introduction to Evolutionary Medicine

A Review of Evolutionary Theory
  • Key Readings:
    • Forbes and Krimmel 2010. Evolution is change in the inherited traits of a population through successive generations.
    • Gravlee 2020 (Scientific American). Racism, not genetics, explains why black Americans are dying of COVID‐19.
Darwinian Medicine and Evolutionary Genetics
  • Key Readings:
Human Evolution
  • Key Reading:
    • Zeberg and Pääbo 2021. The major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neanderthals. [Open Access]
Evolution of the Immune System
Ancient DNA

Module 2 – Infectious Diseases

Emerging Infectious Diseases
Case Study – SIV/HIV
  • Key Readings:
    • Hahn et al. 2000. AIDS as a zoonosis: Scientific and public health implications.
    • Gao et al. 1999. Origin of HIV-1 in the chimpanzee Pan troglodytes troglodytes. [Open Access]
Case Study – Ebola and Filoviridae Friends
Pandemic Day 1 – Introduction and Influenza
Pandemic Day 2 – Coronaviruses
  • Key Readings:
    • Corum and Zimmer 2020 (NY Times). How coronavirus hijacks your cells.
    • Souilmi et al. 2020. An ancient coronavirus-like epidemic drove adaptation in East Asians from 25,000 to 5,000 years ago. [Open Access]
Disease Ecology and Vector-Borne Diseases
Fighting Back: Vaccines, Vector Control, and Eradication

Module 3 – Chronic and “Lifestyle” Diseases

Impact of Agriculture on Health
  • Key Readings:
    • Eaton et al. 1988. Stone agers in the fast lane: chronic degenerative diseases in evolutionary perspective.
    • Minster et al. 2016. A thrifty variant in CREBRF strongly influences body mass index in Samoans. [Open Access]
Immune/Allergy Disorders
  • Key Readings:
    • Briggs et al. 2016. The hygiene hypothesis and its inconvenient truths about helminth infections. [Open Access]
    • Kupferschmidt 2015 (News from Science). Got allergies? Blame parasites.
Fertility and Reproduction
Mendelian Disorders
Recent Human Adaptations
  • Key Readings:
    • Scheinfeld and Tishkoff 2013. Recent human adaptation: genomic approaches, interpretations and insights. [Open Access]
    • Bigham 2016. Genetics of human origin and evolution: high-altitude adaptations. [Open Access]

Module 4 – Other Health Topics

The Future of Evolutionary Medicine
  • Key Reading:
“Race”, Racism, and Colonialism
Wealth and Health
  • Key Readings:
    • Sapolsky 2018 (Scientific American). The health‐wealth gap: The growing gulf between rich and poor inflicts biological damage on bodies and brains.
    • Farmer et al. 2006. Structural violence and clinical medicine. [Open Access]
    • Estes 2020 (The Baffler). The empire of all maladies.
Predicting Traits from Genomes
  • Key Readings:
    • Hirschhorn and Daly 2005. Genome-wide association studies for common diseases and complex traits.
    • Adhikari et al. 2019. A GWAS in Latin Americans highlights the convergent evolution of lighter skin pigmentation in Eurasia. [Open Access]

Module 5 – Special Topical Topics

These change from year to year and are selected based on a vote by the students.

Special Topic: RSV

Special Topic: Polio

Special Topic: Obesity Drugs

Special Topic: Prion Diseases

Special Topic: Tuberculosis