This course will examine the adaptations of many organisms (e.g. viruses, bacteria, fungi, protists, helminths, and parasitic arthropods) to a parasitic way of life, parasite population dynamics, and host-parasite interactions in an ecological and evolutionary context. Topics discussed include strategies for establishment, persistence, reproduction, and transmission, parasite origins and life histories, epidemiology and disease modeling, ecological implications of diseases, host-parasite co-evolution, and emerging infectious diseases.