BSc Biomedical Sciences with Industrial/Professional Experience

This Unit builds on the compulsory pre-requisite Advanced Immunology Unit (BIOL31371). Having learnt last semester about how the immune system functions to sense and mount appropriate responses against different challenges so as to protect and maintain a healthy body, you will now look at ways in which this normal function of the immune system can go wrong, why this results in disease, and how knowledge of normal and disease mechanisms can be used to inform corrective intervention. The Unit is organised as themed weeks, with each week dedicated to a different situation of disease arising from the actions of inappropriate immunity or immune dysfunction.

 

BIOL21242 is a Pre-requisite of BIOL31802 BIOL31371 is a Co-requisite of BIOL31802

• To use knowledge of normal protective immune function to explain processes of disease in named situations involving inappropriate or dysfunctional immunity.

• To apply knowledge of the process of disease to explain current approaches to clinical intervention in the examples of immune-related disease being considered.

• To consider examples of contemporary experimental approaches aiming to manipulate the immune system in the context of immune related disease for improved therapeutic intervention in the future.

 

 

By the end of this Unit you should be able to;

 

·                use your understanding of normal immune function to explain mechanisms of disease in named situations of inappropriate immunity or immune dysfunction studied in the Unit

·                critically evaluate the rationale for current therapeutic intervention in relation to knowledge of immune dysfunction in such situations   

·                discuss, using examples, how knowledge of disease mechanism is informing experimental approaches to improved therapeutic intervention in the future. 

This Unit builds on the compulsory pre-requisite Advanced Immunology Unit (BIOL31371). Having learnt last semester about how the immune system functions to sense and mount appropriate responses against different challenges so as to protect and maintain a healthy body, you will now look at ways in which this normal function of the immune system can go wrong, why this results in disease, and how knowledge of normal and disease mechanisms can be used to inform corrective intervention. The Unit will be organised as themed weeks, with each week dedicated to a different situation of disease arising from the actions of inappropriate immunity or immune dysfunction.

Diseases forming themes in the Unit last year were allergy, autoimmunity, primary immune deficiency, transplantation, cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. Themes are reviewed regularly to ensure they are reflective of current trends in the field. For each themed week, there are three elements, during which understanding of the underlying mechanism resulting in disease will be established and related both to the basis of current clinical interventions and to examples of how knowledge of normal and perturbed immune function is informing current experimental approaches investigating improved methods of therapeutic intervention in the future.

• Online ’Community Learning Forum’, incorporating anonymous submission and discussion, and regular monitored by staff up to the Unit exam. Written formative feedback on the coursework essay.

• Post-exam self-reflection on examiner marking comments.

Recommended: Janeway’s Immunobiology, 9th Edition (2017), written by Murphy and Weaver (Garland Scientific).

Optional: Kuby Immunology (8th edition, 2018), written by Punt, Stranford, Jones and Owen (MacMillan Education),
Optional: The Immune System (4th edition, 2015), written by Peter Parham (Garland Science).

Recommended: Roitt’s Essential Immunology (13th edition, 2017), written by Delves, Martin, Burton and Roitt (Wiley-Blackwell). Available as an ebook through the University of Manchester library;

Immunology is a fast moving field. Further reviews, original articles and websites will be provided in lectures.

 

 

 

Two essays (All questions worth the same marks; questions will be organised in two sections; 3 questions per section; one question to be answered from each section.)