Advanced Immunology

BIOL31371 Advanced Immunology 10 Semester 1 Undergraduate Level 3 Kathleen Nolan Unit coordinator School of Biological Sciences 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Last part of a Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 5.0 This Unit builds directly on the second-year pre-requisite Immunology Unit (BIOL21242). Having established core principles and learnt about different elements of the immune system in year 2, you will now look at how the different parts function as a network of co-ordinating interactions in a healthy immune system to achieve safe and effective protection against the potentially wide range of harmful challenges encountered.  Immunology is the study of the body’s immune defence system. Having learnt about different elements of the immune system and established core principles in year 2, the emphasis of your learning in this Unit will be on how recruitment and interaction of different components are co-ordinated to mount safe and protective immune responses. At each level of the immune response you will consider discrimination and recognition/sensing and how this links to the recruitment of effector functions that are appropriate to combat the presenting challenge. Mucosal surfaces and in particular the gut will be used to illustrate differences in mucosal and systemic immunity, and highlight the importance of tissue environment, such as exposure to commensal bacteria and environmental antigens, on shaping the immune response.    • To expand on key principles of recognition, discrimination and triggering of appropriate immune responses introduced in year 2• To highlight how different molecular and cellular elements of the immune system co-ordinate a phased response to achieve safe and protective immunity• To use mucosal immunity to illustrate the importance of specialisation of the immune response in different niche environments  By the end of this Unit you should be able to;• use specific examples to explain concepts of immune recognition and discrimination at different levels of an immune response• draw on current understanding to explain how recognition results in mounting of appropriate immune activity in a range of challenge and also non-challenge situations• support and evidence discussion on current understanding of how different components of the immune system interact to bring about safe and appropriate immune protection• reference challenges at mucosal barrier sites to demonstrate the importance of tissue environment on shaping immune responses.      Group/team working Group collaboration through discussion on the online community learning forum. Research Engaging with primary literature; analysing and discussing scientific concepts. Written communication Discussion on the online community learning forum; essay-based summative exam. This Unit will build directly on the content of the compulsory pre-requisite unit, BIOL21242 (Immunology). While the focus in year 2 was on introducing different components of the immune system this unit will look more closely at how they are co-ordinated to achieve safe and protective immunity against a wide range of different challenges and encountered in different tissue environments. At each level of the immune response, discrimination and recognition/sensing of challenge will be considered, and how this links to the phased recruitment and amplification of effector functions that are appropriately tailored to combat, and provide lasting protection against, the initiating challenge. Mucosal surfaces and in particular the gut will be used to illustrate differences in mucosal and systemic immunity, and highlight the importance of tissue environment in shaping the immune response.  The unit will be organised to lead you from barrier and first line innate responses, to recruitment of adaptive responses and generation of effective adaptive responses, including tolerance and memory, to a final section focusing on integration and co-ordination of responses. This final section will include the role of NK cells, innate lymphoid and innate-like lymphoid cells, cell dynamics and a look at specialisations for immune responses at barrier surfaces, as exemplified by the gut.  1 Written exam 100% Invigilated exam (2 hours)One essay from a choice of 5, worth 70%, plus MCQ, worth 30%.  • Online ’Community Learning Forum’, incorporating anonymous submission and discussion, and regular monitoring by staff up to the Unit exam.Interactive class discussion using past exam questions to challenge knowledge and interrogate course material.• Post-exam self-reflection on examiner marking comments on scripts and in a compiled examiner report in a staffed exam-clinic.  BIOL21252 Parasitology Pre-Requisite Recommended BIOL21192 Principles of Infectious Disease Pre-Requisite Recommended BIOL21242 Immunology Pre-Requisite Compulsory BIOL31371 Pre-requisite is BIOL21242 N Recommended: Janeway's Immunobiology (Parts I-IV), by Murphy & Weaver, Garland Science, 10th edition (2022)    Optional: Kuby Immunology, (Chpts 1-14), (8th edition, 2018), written by Stranford, Owen, Jones and Punt (MacMillan Education),Optional: The Immune System (5th edition, 2021), written by Peter Parham (Garland Science).Optional: Roitt’s Essential Immunology (13th edition, 2017), written by Delves, Martin, Burton and Roitt (Wiley-Blackwell).Immunology is a fast-moving field and this should be appreciated when consulting both primary literature and textbooks. Further references will be provided in lectures.    Assessment written exam 2 Lectures 15 Practical classes & workshops 3 0 80