Evolution and medicine in undergraduate education: a prescription for all biology students.
By Antolin, M.F., K.P. Jenkins, C.T. Bergstrom, B.J. Crespi, S. De, A. Hancock, K.A. Hanley, T.R. Meagher, A. Moreno-Estrada, R.M. Nesse, G.S. Omenn, S.C. Stearns. 2012. Evolution doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01552.x.
The interface between evolutionary biology and the biomedical sciences promises to advance understanding of the origins of genetic and infectious diseases in humans, potentially leading to improved medical diagnostics, therapies, and public health practices. The biomedical sciences also provide unparalleled examples for evolutionary biologists to explore. However, gaps persist between evolution and medicine, for historical reasons and because they are often perceived as having disparate goals. Evolutionary biologists have a role in building a bridge between the disciplines by presenting evolutionary biology in the context of human health and medical practice to undergraduates, including premedical and preprofessional students. We suggest that students will find medical examples of evolution engaging. By making the connections between evolution and medicine clear at the undergraduate level, the stage is set for future health providers and biomedical scientists to work productively in this synthetic area. Here, we frame key evolutionary concepts in terms of human health, so that biomedical examples may be more easily incorporated into evolution courses or more specialized courses on evolutionary medicine. Our goal is to aid in building the scientific foundation in evolutionary biology for all students, and to encourage evolutionary biologists to join in the integration of evolution and medicine.
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Well said! Of course, I agree with all that you say. But there is the usual elephant in the room. If what you say is so true, how come medical education has managed so long without it? The answer, I believe, is that evolution has, infact, formed a major part of medical curricula for, at least, several decades. The real question to be asked is how come evolution faded to an extent that a resurgence is now called for? Having taught ‘evolutionary biochemistry’ to medical students since the 1960s, the answer seems pretty clear. The powers that be have progressively downgraded the role of the basic biomedical sciences in medical education. Cut, cut, cut. And with the cuts, out went evolution! So what we are seeing now is the return of the basic sciences “through the back door.” And why was there cut, cut, cut? Many reasons, but the major in my opinion was the intense pressure on biomedical scientists imposed by the crazy peer-review system. As percentages of successful grant applications fell, fell, fell, teachers were forced to pay less, less, less attention to the classroom and more, more, more attention to their research. Students became disenchanted. This diagnosis, with appropriate remedies, was spelled out years ago. Here in Canada, we formed CARRF (Can. Assoc. for Responsible Research Funding), but our efforts were in vain. Unfortunately, the problem still remains, and I cannot see Evolutionary Medicine thriving until we deal with it.