The major theme of the 4th HKU-PASTEUR IMMUNOLOGY COURSE will be MUCOSAL IMMUNITY and VACCINE DESIGN. Indeed, a large number of emerging pathogens are mucosally transmitted and must cross mucosal barriers to infect the host. Therefore, there is an ever increasing importance to understand the complex interactions that take place at the mucosal surfaces of the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and urogenital tracts, as well as the skin. As an example of this complexity, the gut immune system is able to distinguish pathogens from both the commensal flora and innocuous dietary antigens and mount an appropriate response to each type of challenge. Thus, our ultimate defense against new and reemerging infectious diseases will require exploring the possibility of developing effective mucosal vaccines as additional components of our defensive arsenal.
The first module on mucosal immunology will provide an overview of the mucosal immune system and of molecules specifically designed to eliminate invading pathogens, whether from innate or adaptive immunity. The second module will address the current concepts and challenges in immunology for developing efficient vaccines.
Lectures will be complemented by methodology workshops based on a partnership with the HSeT Foundation, which has developed an eLearning website dedicated to the course. The main theme of the practical workshop will be “Design of new vaccine strategies against tuberculosis”. The selected students will also have access to on-line material to review basic concepts of immunology before the beginning of the course.
The HKU-Pasteur Immunology course (MMPH6174) is included in the coursework curriculum for research postgraduate studies of the University of Hong Kong.
Deadline for application: September 2, 2011.
There is no registration fee and course and travel application forms can be downloaded here.
