General provisions

Requirements.

At least 120 credits within medicine, biomedicine, biomedical laboratory science, pharmacy, biology or equivalent.

Entry requirements

120 credits in medicine, biomedicine, biology, pharmacy or biomedical laboratory science

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

After the course the student should

• be able to provide examples of diseases that can be treated with immune therapy, gene therapy and cell therapy.
• be able to explain some of the roles the immune system play in cancer, in immune-mediated diseases such as allergy and autoimmunity and in transplantation.
• be able to give examples and explain different technologies used in immune therapy, gene therapy and cell therapy.

Skills and abilities

After the course the student should

• have shown ability to read, and evaluate scientific articles within the subjects of immune therapy, gene therapy and cell therapy.
• proven ability to independently write an essay in the form of a short review article focused on a topic of their own choice that should apply to either immune, gene or cell therapy.

Evaluation and Synthesis

• have shown ability to identify knowledge gaps and need for further research within their chosen topic of immune therapy, gene therapy or cell therapy.
• demonstrated the ability to critically discuss and reflect on ethical and social aspects of using immune, gene or cell therapy.

Content

The course gives an overview of new and established treatments based on immune, gene and cell therapy. The course will discuss new opportunities as well as difficulties with these therapies. Examples of areas that will be presented are allergy, transplantation of endocrine cells, immunotherapy and cancer.

Instruction

The course is a lecture series with one introduction lecture and 10 research lectures. The lectures will be held by scientists and/or medical doctors in the field. The lectures will be held in English.

Assessment

1. Home exam with questions around the topics presented during the course (3 credits).

2. Independent work in the form of a written essay (review article) within the subject immune, gene and cell therapy (4.5 credits).

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.

Other directives

Course leader: Maria Ulvmar PhD, 0737834297 och Karin Fromell PhD.