Faculty Lecturer; Director, Freshman Program; Academic Advisor
T: 514-398-7783 | fernando.altamura [at] mcgill.ca (Email) | Macdonald-Stewart Building, MS1-023
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Degrees
D.M. Université de Montréal, Canada
M.Sc. McGill University, Canada
M.M. Yale University, USA
B.Sc. (AgEnvSc), McGill University, Canada
B.M. & M.M. Rotterdam Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, The Netherlands
B.A. Conservatorio Piccinni, Italy
Short Bio
Fernando Altamura’s diverse background features a true mosaic of scientific and artistic facets. His love for the arts motivated him to pursue studies in classical music, culminating in a master and doctorate from Yale University and Université de Montréal, respectively.
Dr. Altamura pursued his scientific studies at McGill University in both the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, specializing in life sciences, and in the Faculty of Medicine, where he conducted graduate research in the field of pharmacology and therapeutics of infectious diseases. More specifically, his research applied biochemical and genetic technologies to develop new therapeutic strategies to fight bacterial infections (C. difficile), and parasitic diseases (trypanosomiasis).
Dr. Altamura joins the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of McGill University in 2020, where he serves as Faculty Lecturer in the Freshman Program.
Awards and Recognitions
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Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Award for Teaching Excellence (2022)
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Postgraduate Scholarship, Doctoral Program – NSERC (2020)
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Bourse de Doctorat – FRQNT (2020)
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CSPC Scholarship – Canadian Glycomics Network (2019)
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Graduate Excellence Award – McGill (2019)
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Alexander Graham Bell Canada, Graduate Scholarship – NSERC (2017)
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Dean's Honors List – McGill (2017)
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Tomlinson Award – McGill (2017)
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Bieler Internship Award – McGill (2016)
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Robert S. Broughton Internship – McGill (2016)
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E. Parisot Award – Yale (2010)
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Nuffic Huygens Scholarship – Dutch Government (2007)
Research Interests
- Target-based drug discovery of infectious diseases.
- Modulation of host-microbiota interaction as a therapeutic strategy.
- Innovation in STEM teaching with special focus on mathematics and science communication.
Courses
AEMA 101
Calculus 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics (Agric&Envir Sci): A review of functions and graphs. Limits, continuity, derivatives. Differentiation of elementary functions. Anti-differentiation. Applications.
Offered by: Animal Science
- Fall
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisite: a course in functions
AEMA 102
Calculus 2
4 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics (Agric&Envir Sci): Integration, the indefinite and definite integral. Trapezoidal and Simpson's Rule approximations for the integral. Applications to areas between curves, distance, volume, length of a curve, work, area of a surface of revolution, average values, moments, etc. Improper integrals and infinite series.
Offered by: Animal Science
- Winter
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisite: Calculus 1 or equivalent
AEMA 105
Precalculus Lab
1 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics (Agric&Envir Sci): Problem-solving: foundational material in algebra concepts, functions and graphs, polynomials and rational functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, graphs and equations, trigonometry, analytic trigonometry, systems of linear equations, sequences & series.
Offered by: Bioresource Engineering
- (1.0 credit) (2 lab hours per week; normally taken concurrently with AEMA 101 Calculus 1)
- Restrictions: Open only to students in FAES whose background is deficient in Precalculus mathematics. Not open to students who have taken CEGEP competency OOUP, AEMA 102, or equivalent. Not open to students who have taken AEMA 100 or MATH 112. Permission of instructor required.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
AEMA 202
Intermediate Calculus
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics (Agric&Envir Sci): Partial differentiation; multiple integrals; vector calculus; infinite series; and introduction to the use of computer-based mathematical tools in applications.
Offered by: Bioresource Engineering
- Fall
- 3 lectures and 1 conference
- Restrictions: Not open to students who have taken MATH 222
- Prerequisites: BREE 103 and AEMA 102 or equivalent CEGEP objectives 00UP and 00UQ or permission of instructor
AEBI 120
General Biology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Agric & Envir Sc): An introduction to core themes in biological sciences, including cell structure and function, cell replication, gene expression, genetic inheritance, biodiversity, evolution, and ecological interactions.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
- Fall
- 2 lectures and one 3-hour lab per week
- Restriction: Not open to students who have obtained CEGEP competency 00UK.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Fernando Altamura, Christie-Anna Lovat
AEBI 122
Cell Biology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Agric & Envir Sc): Introduction to key topics in cell biology, including chemical biology, cell membranes, enzymes in biological reactions, cellular energetics, cell signaling, DNA synthesis and repair, gene expression and regulatory mechanisms. Connections between cell biology and animal physiology.
Offered by: Bioresource Engineering
- Provides a basis for later courses in cell biology.
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have passed BIOL 112 or obtained CEGEP competency 00XU; not equivalent to LSCI 202.
LSCI 202
Molecular Cell Biology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Life Sciences: Organization and function of intracellular organelles in eukaryotic cells. Mechanisms of membrane transport. Protein sorting and vesicular transport. Cytoskeleton. DNA and chromosome structure. DNA replication. Mechanisms of RNA and protein synthesis. Control of gene expression. Cell cycle and the control of cell division. Mechanisms of cell communication and signal transduction. Apoptosis. Neuronal signaling.
Offered by: Parasitology
- Prerequisites: LSCI 211 and FDSC 230 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
ANSC 400
Eukaryotic Cells and Viruses
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Animal Science: The basic principles of molecular biology and the underlying molecular basis for various methodologies in molecular biology are covered. The molecular genetic basis for viral infections and tumorigenesis will be covered as examples of the use of molecular genetic approaches to address biological problems.
Offered by: Animal Science
ANSC 600
Adv Eukaryotic Cells & Viruses
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Animal Science: Underlying molecular basis for various methodologies in molecular biology, including the genetic basis for viral infections and tumorigenesis, and the use of molecular genetic approaches to address biological problems.
Offered by: Animal Science
- Winter
- Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken ANSC 400.
Publications
View a list of current publications