Molecular and Cellular Immunology


Meeting Time: Tuesday and Thursday 10:30-12:00
Meeting Place: Mellon Institute, Room 448
Course URL: http://stingray.bio.cmu.edu/~web/imm/index.html
Course Text: Immunology: A short course. Benjamini, Coico, Sunshine. Wiley-Liss ISBN 0- 471-34890-2.
Alternative Text: Immunology. J. Kuby. W.H. Freeman and Company
Instructors: Gordon Rule, Amit Srivastava., and Chien Ho (Guest Lecture)

Grading policy: There will be three in-class exams that will only cover the material given after the previous exam. Each exam will count 30% towards the final grade. There is no final exam. In-class student presentations will be given in the last class periods. These presentations are to be done by groups of 2-4 students and should present the most important aspects of a topic in contemporary immunology. The topic must be submitted to the instructors for approval no later than 2 weeks before the presentations. In addition, each group must prepare a short 1 page summary of their presentation to be distributed to the class the class period before the presentations are given. This summary will be worth 5% of the final grade. The presentations should be approximately 20 minutes long with an additional 5 minutes for questions. The presentation will account for 5% of the final grade.

Tentative Schedule:

Lec.# Date I Topic (Chapter) Link to PDF
1 Jan 15 (T) GRAcquired and Innate Immunity. Introduction to cellular Imm.(1,2) PDF
2 Jan 17 (Th)GRIntroduction to Molecular Immunology and organ systems.(1,2)
PDF
3 Jan 22 (T) GRAntibody Structure and Function (4)
PDF
4 Jan 24 (Th)GRImmunogens and antigen (3)
PDF
5 Jan 29 (T) GRExperimental assay of antigen-antibody interactions (5)
PDF
6 Jan 31 (Th)GRGenetic Basis of Antibody Structure (6)
PDF
Feb 5 (T) Exam I: Lectures 1-6
7 Feb 7 (Th) GRB cell maturation (7)
8 Feb 12 (T) GRStructure and function of MHC complex (8)
9 Feb 14(Th) GRT cell maturation and role in the immune response (9)
10Feb 19 (T) GRB and T cell Communication (10)
11Feb 21 (Th)GRCytokines (12)
12Feb 26 (T) GRControl Mechanisms: Review of Molecular and Cellular Imm.(11)
Feb 28 (Th) Exam II: Lectures 7-12