BIOL3008 - Immunology in Action

A foundational understanding of the immune response is central to our ability to address challenges in treating and preventing disease as scientists and to understand advances as citizens. The study of immunology can be daunting, in part because our response is complex and integrates many systems, and in part because the vocabulary that has developed around this discipline is dense with abbreviations and acronyms. In this class, we will work together to demystify the immune system by considering responses in context - for example, by considering how vaccines exploit the ability of the immune system to generate memories, analyzing the design of a CAR-T cell to understand how it can be used to attack tumors, evaluating the remarkable history and current promise of monoclonal antibodies in treatment of inflammatory diseases, and more. The course, which will consist of a combination of weekly interactive synchronous sessions and asynchronous assignments, should provide you with tools to critically evaluate information about advances - and a foundation that will allow you to contribute to new discoveries in this fascinating, dynamic field.