AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The Course aims to describe the main up-to-date research concerning immunotherapy and to provide students with the necessary information to follow the research evolution in this field. In particular, the Course will provide basic notions on the immune response and will outline the immunological mechanisms underlying the therapeutic approaches examined. The different types of immunotherapy currently used or undergoing experimentation are also illustrated, together with specific examples.

The Course aims:

• to provide a basic knowledge about the functioning of the immune system;
• to provide an overall comprehension about the mechanisms underlying immunotherapy;
• to analyze the use of immunotherapy for the cure of different pathological conditions;
• to develop an adequate knowledge about the state-of the-art in the field of immunotherapy.

At the end of the course the student will be able:

• to know the basic principles of the immune response;
• to apply the knowledge of the immunological mechanisms to explain how immunotherapy works;
• to know the different types of pathological conditions in which immunotherapy is employed;
• to classify the different therapeutic approaches;
• to acquire a correct terminology for the proper presentation of the processes examined.

Teaching methods

The Course is organized in frontal lessons dealing with the different topics of the syllabus and covering 8 hours. Such topics are explained by the teacher through Powerpoint presentations that will be shared with the students on Aulaweb.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Basic concepts on innate and adaptive immune response.

The immune system in chronic inflammatory diseases, in autoimmune diseases, and in the defense against tumors.

The immunotherapy in the treatment of chronic inflammatory disorders, in autoimmune diseases, and in tumors.

Humoral immunotherapy – Therapy with monoclonal antibodies.

Cellular immunotherapy – Vaccination with T lymphocytes – Vaccination with dendritic cells – Therapy with CAR (Chimeric Antigen Receptors)-T.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The students can download the ppt presentations from Aulaweb

As optional research material, and based on students’ requests, also scientific papers and reviews will be available in English language, concerning the main topics discussed during the lessons, and reference textbooks will be recommended.  

Exam Board

FILIPPO ANSALDI (President)

ALESSIO SIGNORI

ANTONIETTA MARIA MARTELLI

CLAUDIA CANTONI

FRANCESCA LANTIERI

ANNAMARIA BAGNASCO (President and Coordinator of Integrated Course)

Teaching methods

The Course is organized in frontal lessons dealing with the different topics of the syllabus and covering 8 hours. Such topics are explained by the teacher through Powerpoint presentations that will be shared with the students on Aulaweb.

LESSONS START

First semester.

Exam description

Students will be asked to perform a research through Pubmed and to write a brief text dealing with one of the topics discussed during the frontal lessons.

The exam is part of the evaluation of the integrated Course. The assessment of the learning outcomes for the specific module will take place through a written work

Assessment methods

The written work prepared by the student should be concise but exhaustive. The assessment will focus on the clarity of result presentation, the ability to collect relevant information, and the appropriateness of the bibliographic sources. Through the analysis of these issues, the teacher will evaluate the overall knowledge of the student in the field of immunotherapy and the fulfillment of the expected learning outcomes.