Our online course Foundations of immunology is designed to provide a strong foundation in the fundamental principles of immunology.
Whether you're a scientist from a non-immunology field, a healthcare professional, a student, or want to expand your knowledge of how the immune system works, this course is your gateway to understanding one of the most vital and fast-evolving areas of science and medicine.
The course will explore key components of the immune system, how it defends the body against infectious diseases, and what happens when the immune system becomes dysregulated or suppressed.
Why take this course?
The immune system is at the heart of how we fight infections, respond to vaccines, and develop cutting-edge treatments like immunotherapies. As its role in health and disease becomes ever more prominent, a solid grasp of immunology is becoming essential for professionals across research, healthcare, and industry.
The course is expert-designed by our immunologists and delivered by the British Society for Immunology. Taking place online (and with an accompanying online learning platform), this one-day online course aims to provide a concise, cohesive learning journey, with lectures and interactive activities, allowing learners to engage with expert speakers and consolidate their learning in real-time. The course is delivered by professional immunologists who not only possess deep scientific knowledge, but also excel at communicating it clearly and effectively.
Aimed towards a broad audience, including scientists from non-immunology disciplines, healthcare and industry scientists, nurses, clinicians and students, this course will introduce core immunology concepts. Although no knowledge of immunology is required for attendees, this course is best suited to those who can digest higher education-level scientific information.
Upon course completion, learners will receive a certificate from the British Society for Immunology. For one year after the course date, learners will be able to revisit course content via our online learning platform. The platform will also contain additional resources to help deepen understanding of the topics covered.
What the course will cover:
Information will be delivered via a series of lectures and interactive activities on our online learning platform, and will explore innate and adaptive immunity, the immune system in health and disease, and how the immune system can be harnessed to improve health – including advances in vaccines and immunotherapies. The final lecture will look to the future and discuss the immunology innovations on the horizon.
- Innate immunity – this session will introduce the body’s first line of defence against potential diseases, and the barriers, cells and molecules involved. The innate immune system is often described as non-specific, as it responds to all potential pathogens in the same way.
- Adaptive immunity – often described as the second line of defence, this layer of the immune system builds memory based on previous infections. This session will cover the cell types that make up the adaptive immune system, and how they recognise and target infections.
- The immune system in health and disease – the immune system is highly regulated, and even small changes to the fine balance of this system have a major impact. This session will explore what happens when the immune system ‘goes wrong’ or reacts inappropriately, for example in autoimmune disease, allergies or even cancer.
- Harnessing the immune system: vaccines and immunotherapies – this session will explore how we train and use the immune system to protect human health. This includes well-known therapies such as vaccines, and also newer treatments such as monoclonal antibodies and CAR-T therapy.
- Horizons in immunology – as our understanding of immunology continues to deepen, so do the potential applications of this knowledge. This session will discuss what the future holds for immunology, and the advances in health and ageing that we may see in the coming years.
Course outline:
9:30 | Introduction (Dr Bronwen Burton, University of Bristol)
9:30 | Innate immunity (Dr Adrian Shields, University of Birmingham)
11:00 | Break
11:15 | Adaptive immunity (Dr Bronwen Burton, University of Bristol)
12:45 | Lunch
13:30 | The immune system in health and disease (Dr Gareth Rhys-Jones, University of Glasgow)
15:00 | Break
15:15 | Harnessing the immune system: vaccines and immunotherapies (Dr Chris Wincup, King’s College Hospital)
16:15 | Horizons in immunology (Professor Sheena Cruickshank, University of Manchester and Professor Tracy Hussell, University of Manchester)
17:00 | Closing comments
Course dates and registration:
This course will next be held on Thursday 19 June. Register here.
For more information, contact training@immunology.org.
Meet the tutors:
Based at the University of Bristol, Dr Bronwen Burton is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. Bronwen is a passionate immunology educator, committed to immunology education and equality and sharing immunology research with a wider audience. Her research background in immune tolerance and immunotherapy.
Dr Adrian Shields is a clinical immunologist based at the University of Birmingham. He is interested in the immune system helps to protect us against infections, and how those systems fail in individuals with primary and secondary immunodeficiencies.
Based at the University of Glasgow, Dr Gareth-Rhys Jones is a group leader in human gut immunology, focusing on how the immune system behaves in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Dr Chris Wincup is a Consultant Rheumatologist in King’s College Hospital’s Lupus Unit. He specialises in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a chronic autoimmune disorder that presents with a wide array of clinical symptoms.
Professor Sheena Cruickshank is an immunologist and professor in biomedical sciences and public engagement at the University of Manchester. Her research focuses on how an immune response starts and how it distinguishes between benefit (such as our microbiome) or threats (such as infection and injury).
Professor Tracy Hussell is currently the President of the BSI, and Director of the Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation at the University of Manchester. Her research explores the long-term impact of infections on the lung.