Immunology
Immunology at third-year depth: the cells, organs and principles of immunity from clonal selection to memory, barriers, complement and pattern recognition receptors, inflammation, cytokines, interferons, phagocytes, NK cells and trained immunity, MHC class I and II antigen processing, cross-presentation and HLA diversity, antibody structure, V(D)J recombination, germinal centers, affinity maturation and class switching, thymic selection, T cell activation and helper subsets, cytotoxic effector mechanisms and immunological memory, tolerance, regulatory T cells and FOXP3, checkpoints and exhaustion, immunity to infection, vaccine platforms, herd immunity and vaccine efficacy, hypersensitivity and autoimmunity, primary immunodeficiency, HIV and transplantation, and tumor immunology, checkpoint inhibitors, CAR-T cells, diagnostic tests and predictive values, with vaccine safety monitoring through VAERS and the Vaccine Safety Datalink and the 2025–2026 changes to ACIP and the federal childhood schedule.
BIOL-380 Year 3 3 credits 12 lessons · 5 h 38 min
Offered by HSM University · Biology
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Explain the principles of clonal selection, specificity, diversity, memory and tolerance, and describe the cells and organs of the immune system and how a response unfolds over time.
- Describe barrier defenses, the three pathways of complement activation and their regulation, and the pattern recognition receptors that detect microbial and damage-associated molecules.
- Explain inflammation, leukocyte recruitment, cytokines and interferons, phagocyte killing, NK cell recognition, the acute-phase response, resolution and trained immunity.
- Compare MHC class I and class II structure and antigen-processing pathways, explain cross-presentation and dendritic cell maturation, and analyze the consequences of HLA polymorphism for disease and transplant matching.
- Relate antibody structure to function, explain how V(D)J recombination generates diversity, and describe B cell activation, germinal centers, affinity maturation, class switching and monoclonal antibodies.
- Describe T cell receptor signaling, thymic positive and negative selection, the three signals of T cell activation and the differentiation of helper T cell subsets.
- Explain how cytotoxic and helper T cells and antibodies eliminate pathogens, how responses contract, and how central, effector and tissue-resident memory and long-lived plasma cells sustain immunity.
- Explain central and peripheral tolerance, the biology of regulatory T cells and FOXP3 recognized by the 2025 Nobel Prize, inhibitory checkpoints, T cell exhaustion and tolerance at special sites.
- Analyze immunity and evasion across pathogen types, compare vaccine platforms, calculate herd immunity thresholds and vaccine efficacy, and describe vaccine safety monitoring and the changes to federal vaccine policy in the United States in 2025 and 2026.
- Classify hypersensitivity reactions by mechanism, explain allergy and anaphylaxis, and analyze the genetic and environmental causes and treatments of autoimmune disease.
- Interpret patterns of infection in primary and secondary immunodeficiencies, explain the biology and treatment of HIV, and describe the mechanisms and prevention of transplant rejection and graft-versus-host disease.
- Explain cancer immunoediting and immunotherapies, interpret immunological diagnostic tests and predictive values, and integrate the course to analyze a clinical case.
Course content
12 lessons · 5 h 38 min total · final exam
- 1 The immune system: cells, organs and principles 30 min · quiz
- 2 Innate immunity I: barriers, complement and recognition 28 min · quiz
- 3 Innate immunity II: inflammation, cytokines and innate cells 28 min · quiz
- 4 Antigen presentation and the MHC 29 min · quiz
- 5 Antibodies and B cells 29 min · quiz
- 6 T cell development and activation 27 min · quiz
- 7 Effector responses and immunological memory 26 min · quiz
- 8 Tolerance and immune regulation 26 min · quiz
- 9 Immunity to infection and vaccines 31 min · quiz
- 10 Hypersensitivity and autoimmunity 28 min · quiz
- 11 Immunodeficiency and transplantation 28 min · quiz
- 12 Capstone: tumor immunology, immunotherapy and immunology in public health 28 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
Immunology at third-year depth: the cells, organs and principles of immunity from clonal selection to memory, barriers, complement and pattern recognition receptors, inflammation, cytokines, interferons, phagocytes, NK cells and trained immunity, MHC class I and II antigen processing, cross-presentation and HLA diversity, antibody structure, V(D)J recombination, germinal centers, affinity maturation and class switching, thymic selection, T cell activation and helper subsets, cytotoxic effector mechanisms and immunological memory, tolerance, regulatory T cells and FOXP3, checkpoints and exhaustion, immunity to infection, vaccine platforms, herd immunity and vaccine efficacy, hypersensitivity and autoimmunity, primary immunodeficiency, HIV and transplantation, and tumor immunology, checkpoint inhibitors, CAR-T cells, diagnostic tests and predictive values, with vaccine safety monitoring through VAERS and the Vaccine Safety Datalink and the 2025–2026 changes to ACIP and the federal childhood schedule.
Part of the Science stream, typically taken in year 3.