SITE SEARCH

The Department is responsible for the teaching of Immunology to medical students and graduate students. The following courses are offered:

General Immunology: General immunology is taught to first year medical students (M30 523 Immunology). Dr. Andrey Shaw is the course master for this course. The course is primarily didactic lectures with two laboratories and small group clinical case discussions. The didactic lectures are given by many of the faculty. The course is divided into three parts. First, there are several basic lectures on the components of the immune system. This is followed by integrative lectures designed to explain how the basic components of the immune system work together to mount an effective immune response. Finally, there are lectures designed to explain the function of the immune system in health and disease. Emphasis is given on the clinical relevance of the material being taught throughout the course.

Contemporary Molecular Immunology: This is a medical school elective class taught to first year Washington University medical students. Dr. Barry Sleckman is the course master. It is a didactic/discussion course, which probes some of the topics taught in the Medical School Immunology course in greater scientific depth. About 20 students take the course every year. [Schedule of Topics]

Clinical Immunology: This is a medical school elective class taught to first year Washington University medical students. Here the students see patients with immune-based disorders such as immunodeficiency and autoimmunity. This is done in small groups with a faculty preceptor.

Foundations in Immunology: This is a graduate school course taught to first year graduate students. Dr. Kenneth Murphy is the course master. This is a fast paced, in-depth didactic course that covers the basic aspects of cellular and molecular immunology. It is taught by several faculty who teach their areas of expertise.

Pillars in Immunology: This is a graduate school course taught to first year students by Drs. Paul Allen, Ken Murphy, and Robert Schreiber. A series of 14 seminal topics in immunology will be covered through the reading, presentation, and discussion of the primary papers in each area. [Schedule of Topics]

Advanced Topics in Immunology: This is a graduate school course taught primarily to first year immunology graduate students. Wojciech Swat is the course master. This course is a paper-based course where students are assigned papers to read on specific topics each week. The classes involve a student-driven critical discussion of the papers with one of the course masters and an invited faculty member. The topics covered are broad but not inclusive of all areas of immunology. [Schedule of Topics]