Fundamentals of Immunology Innate Immunity and B-Cell Function
Course 1 of a three course specialization called Fundamentals of Immunology. Each course in the specialization presents material that builds on the previous course’s material.This is the first leg of a three-part journey through the defenses your body uses to keep you healthy. In this part we hope to give you the vocabulary and concepts you need to interact with the medical community and to provide them in a context that makes them memorable.
Fundamentals of Immunology introduces students to the basic functions of the adaptive and innate immune systems. The early lectures survey cells, tissues and organs using metaphors, cartoons and models to improve understanding and retention. After describing the form, function, origin and varieties of antibodies, subsequent lectures provide details on the mechanism of the generation of variation. The course provides animations of gene rearrangement and class switching and descriptions of affinity maturation correlated with detailed physical models of antibody structure. The final lecture reviews these concepts in anatomical context. Testing employs multiple choice questions testing facts, concepts, and application of principles. Questions may refer to diagrams, drawing and photographs used in lecture and reproduced in the outline.
What You’ll Learn:
The difference between adaptive and innate immune systems, the characteristics of various pathogens that they protect you from and the overall strategies employed in this protection. The detailed structure of antibodies and related immunoglobulin receptors, the characteristics and function of the different antibody classes and the mechanism for producing both the recognition regions and stem regions. Finally, how these structures are coded for in the DNA and expressed in the B cells.
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Syllabus
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week 1
Introducing the Metaphors
Week 2
Surveying the Cells and Organs of the Immune System
Week 3
Innate Immunity
Week 4
Antigens and Antibodies
Week 5
Immuniglobulin Genes
Week 6
Development of B Cells
Final
FAQ
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Reviews
The way of teaching and the way of conducting tests are excellent. I was not much interested in immunology until I start this course but now I started loving the subject.
Excellent course!
It helped me reinforce previous knowledge of immunology with clear examples and a focus on function rather than terminology. Looking forward to the other courses.
The course presents with excellent step-by-step detailed explanation of immunity from the systems biology perspective: starting on organism level and going down to the cell and mollecular levels.
Dr. Novotny is an absolute master of creating cohesive, intuitively structured and enjoyable lectures. This course is a wonderful learning opportunity and I fully recommend!