BMED19005  Immunology

The study of Immunology introduces the student to pre-natal and post-natal development of the immune system; maternal acquired immunity; the lymphatic network; immune function in health and disease including autoimmune conditions; humoral and cellular immunity; the major histocompatability complex (MHC) or HLA; T-cell and B-cell function; T-cell epitopes; immune responses to proteins, bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and other multi-cellular organisms; polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies; anti-idiotypic antibodies; antibody detection methods; diagnostic uses of antibodies; vaccine design; active and passive immunity; preventive and therapeutic uses of vaccines; expression of recombinant antibodies by transgenic organisms; targeting of chemotherapeutic agents using tumour specific antibodies; immunological modulation of metabolism, growth and fertility; immunologically transgenic animals for organ use in humans; use of gene knockout models to study the MHC and immune response mechanisms.