526-305 Medical and Applied Immunology

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Microbiology 526-304.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

The subject provides an in depth study of cell interactions in the immune response: natural and acquired immunity to bacteria, viruses and parasites; design of vaccines; immunodeficiency, including HIV/AIDS; immunopathology of infection; autoimmunity, its aetiology, pathogenesis and treatment; current practice and future perspectives in transplantation and tumour immunology.

By the end of the subject students should be able to understand and discuss:

• cell interactions in immunity as they relate to medical and applied aspects of immunology;

• the mechanisms of natural and acquired immunity to bacteria, viruses and parasites, and mechanisms of evasion of these responses, and how this knowledge relates to vaccine design;

• the problems of immunopathology and immunodeficiency in infection;

• the aetiology, pathogenesis and treatment of autoimmunity;

• the problems of transplantation and how they are overcome;

• the potential of immunotherapy and vaccines against cancer.

Students should have developed skills in analysing experimental evidence for immunological concepts.

They should appreciate the experimental basis of our knowledge of the immune response and how this knowledge can be extrapolated to practical applications.

Assessment

A 3-hour end-of-semester written examination.

Prescribed Texts

• Roitt I et al, Immunology. 5th ed. 1998.