Key facts

Overview

Please send me details about future Immunology: A Pathway Through the Maze courses.

Immunology is a rapidly developing subject with wide-ranging implications for the pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotechnology industries.

Common questions include, for example: How does the immune system defend the body against infection? What goes wrong when autoimmunity develops? How can undesirable responses be controlled?

Team leaders, R&D directors, and researchers at the bench all need to understand the latest developments in immunology and their implications for drug discovery and development as well as disease treatment. An understanding of the fundamental features of the immune system is essential not only for those who work in areas directly related to infection and immunity, but also for those working in the development of biopharmaceuticals, vaccines and antibody therapy, who wish to exploit the technological advances that have resulted from our increased insight into how the system functions.

Description

As well as offering a path through the immunology maze, the course will emphasize the R&D opportunities for therapeutic intervention that arise from recent advances in immunology, for example the use of therapeutic antibodies and recombinant molecules as potential drug treatments. After the introductory session, each lecture will begin by covering the basic concepts of a particular area of immunology; these will then be developed in such a way that participants are rapidly brought an understanding of the most recent findings.

Oxford is a leading centre in the creative development and application of the theory and techniques of immunology in collaboration with industry. The presenters are leading scientists in their fields and use these techniques in their day-to-day research. They work in the Nuffield Department of Surgery at the University of Oxford.

Congratulations to Prof Kathryn Wood, tutor on this course, who has been awarded the prestigious "Maharshi Sushruta Award for Transplantation Biology"

Congratulations to Prof Fiona Powrie, tutor on this course, who has been awarded the 2012 Louis-Jeantet Prize for medicine for her work on the interactions between the bacterial intestinal flora and the immune system.

Programme details

Course content

Day 1

• 10:30 Registration and coffee
• 11:00 Introduction to the course
• 11:15 Session 1: A map of the immune system; the response to infection (Kathryn Wood)
• 12:45 Questions and Discussion (Kathryn Wood)
• 1:00 Lunch
• 2:00 Session 2: Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules (Kathryn Wood)
• 2:45 Session 3: Antigen processing and presentation (Kathryn Wood)
• 3:30 Questions and Discussion (Kathryn Wood)
• 3:45 Tea
• 4:15 Session 4: The antigen receptors and generation of the antigen receptor repertoire (Kathryn Wood)
• 5:00 Review and Discussion (Kathryn Wood)

Day 2

• 10:00 Session 5: Antigen presenting cells and costimulation (Kathryn Wood)
• 10:45 Session 6: The role of adhesion molecules in immunity (Kathryn Wood)
• 11:15 Questions and Discussion (Kathryn Wood)
• 11:30 Coffee
• 12:00 Session 7: Cytokines (Fiona Powrie)
• 1:00 Lunch
• 2:00 Session 8: Cytokine regulation of immune function (Fiona Powrie)
• 3:00 Questions and Discussion (Fiona Powrie)
• 3:15 Session 9: Tolerance and autoimmunity (Fiona Powrie)
• 4:00 Tea - Review and Discussion (Fiona Powrie)

Day 1:
First day registration and tea/coffee from 10.30am when course materials will be distributed. The course starts at 11.00am.

On day 1 there will be two 30 minute breaks during the day and a one-hour lunch break. The course ends at approximately 5.00pm.

Day 2:
The course begins at 10.00am and ends at approximately 4.30pm. Lunch and refreshments as on day 1.

Staff

Professor Fiona Powrie

Role: Speaker

Sidney Truelove Professor of Gastroenterology, Translational Gastroenterology Unit, Experimental Medicine Division University of Oxford, John...more Radcliffe Hospital

Fiona Powrie is the Sidney Truelove Professor of Gastroenterology at the Translational Gastroenterology Unit, Experimental Medicine Division. Her research interest is immune regulation, particularly CD4+ T cells subsets and cytokines in mucosal immune regulation.

Main areas of research:

• Analysis of innate responses to intestinal bacteria and how these influence the adaptive immune response
• Characterisation of intestinal dendritic cell subsets and their contribution to tolerance and immunity in the gut
• Regulatory T cells and their induction, specificity and function in the intestine
• Identification of cytokines and downstream signalling pathways that promote intestinal inflammation with particular emphasis on the IL-23/Th-17 immune axis
• Susceptibility genes that control bacteria-driven colon cancer

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Professor Kathryn Wood

Role: Speaker

Professor of Immunology, Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford

Kathryn Wood is Professor of Immunology...more in the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford. Kathryn joined the Nuffield Department of Surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital in 1982. Since then, she has developed an active research program focused on transplantation immunology. She is the co-author of Principles of Cellular and Molecular Immunology and author of The Handbook of Transplant Immunology. She is Vice-President (Eastern) of the Transplantation Society.

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Certification

Participants who satisfy the course requirements will receive a Certificate of Attendance. The pdf sample above is an illustration only, and the wording will reflect the course and dates attended.

Level and demands

This course will be valuable to people with backgrounds in a wide range of disciplines, including medicine, pharmaceutical R&D and biotechnology. It will be of benefit to all researchers and managers involved in drug discovery and development as well as academics. It has been specifically designed both for those who are new to immunology and for those who already have some understanding but wish to update their knowledge. A basic background in biology - whether or not it included molecular biology - would be an advantage for those attending.

Accommodation

Accommodation is available at the Rewley House Residential Centre, within the Department for Continuing Education, in central Oxford. The comfortable, en-suite, study-bedrooms are rated 3-star, and come with free high-speed internet access and TV. Guests can take advantage of the excellent dining facilities and common room bar, where they may relax and network with others on the programme.

Payment

Fees include course materials, tuition, refreshments and lunches. The price does not include accommodation.

All courses are VAT exempt.

Scholarships

Details of funding opportunities, including grants, bursaries, loans, scholarships and benefit information are available on our financial assistance page.

Fee options

Programme Fee

Standard course fee: £895.00

Apply for this course

Programmes including this module

This module can be studied as part of these programmes:

• Biosciences