CAMB 609 - Vaccines and Imunization Therapy

Institution:

University of Pennsylvania

Subject:

Description:

David Weiner, Ph.D., Paul Offit, M.D., Dr. Jean Boyer. Vaccination is perhaps the most successful medical intervention. The goal of this course is to expand on students' general understanding of the immune system and to focus this understanding towards the application of vaccination. Furthermore, the course will give the student a sense of how these principles are applied to vaccine and immune therapeutic development. The course covers basic science as well as the clinical, ethical, and political implications of modern vaccines. Initial lectures review immune mechanisms believed to be responsible for vaccine induced protection from disease. Subsequent lectures build on this background to explore the science of vaccines for diverse pathogens, including agents of bioterrorism as well as vaccines for cancer. An appreciation for the application of laboratory science to the clinical development of vaccines is provided in the next section of the course along with lectures, which focus on the ethical implications of vaccines in different situations. The financial implications of specific vaccines on the global community is one specific focus of the course. The course is lecture style and has a required reading to provide the student background for the specific topic. Students are graded on course participation, a project and a final written exam. The project is to propose in a written report a vaccine strategy for a current pathogen of importance that does not as yet have an effective vaccine. Strategies used should build on the material presented in the class lectures. The course is intended for graduate students or medical students in various MS, Ph.D., or MD/Ph.D. programs on the campus as well as local scientists and professionals in the community. As a prerequisite students should have taken biology, biochemistry, or immunology courses at the advanced college level.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.upenn.edu

Phone Number:

(215) 898-5000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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