Announcements, Course Overview, and Assignment for September 10.

Welcome everyone to Molecular Immunology 2007. Our first meeting will be next Monday 10 September 3-6pm in ESB211--not the room scheduled for the class (ESB137) which is inadequate. Hopefully we can meet in this room throughout the semester or in NMS1.120.

Below is the Syllabus as I listed for this course last spring:

Molecular Immunology is intended to cover the entire field in some detail, with an emphasis on molecular models and medical relevance. There will be some lectures but the majority of the time will involve discussions of papers and student presentations. We will use as a guide the Janeway et al. sixth edition of Immunobiology: The Immune System in Health and Disease. At the beginning of the year, I will hand out a list of "learning objectives" that I feel constitute the basic information that should be extracted from the book and the various papers that will be assigned. A final examination will be required. This may be oral.A final examination of these objectives will be required.

I am not sure yet exactly what the format will be this year. We will talk about this on Monday. In my experience, it is difficult to "cover the entire field" in a class like this and still keep emphasis on research. Regardless of the specific style of the class, we will rely heavily on the Janeway et al textbook (Immunobiology 6th edition). This is an outstanding, up to date book that is both research and medically oriented.

My current preference is to spend about half of the time on my lectures, which will review and address questions on the assigned reading in Janeway. I will not go over every topic in the assigned Chapter. The remainder of the time will be spent on one or two research papers. Individual students will lead each discussions, but everybody is responsible for reading and doing their best at evaluating the data. The papers chosen will be relevant to the topic but strongly focused on the molecular aspects.

Before next Monday: Reply to this email and tell me two things:

1. Why you signed up for this course and what you would like/expect to learn from it?

2. What is your background in immunology and in molecular biology (eg any courses taken previously; research experience in the area, etc)?

Assignment: Read Chapter 1 and start to familiarize yourself with Appendix I.

Exams-Tentative

I plan to give at least a Mid-Term and a Final. Last year's class thought more examinations would be helpful to insure they were learning. We can discuss this. The Final Exam will be taken either as a take-home exam or as an oral exam. In either format, questions will be more hypothetical, as I would not expect vast memorization; just concepts. Other exams will have a restricted time and will be objective. These will be given to insure me that you are reading and putting in the effort to be competitive. I will be happy to discuss any issue with you individually when we both have time. I will keep Friday afternoons (as best as I can) open for this purpose.

Finally, I stress that my grade evaluation process will be on an individual basis; not on some normalized curve. Your presentations and participation in class discussions will be strongly considered. If this is a problem for you, there is still an opportunity to drop the class. I anticipate that, because of your varied backgrounds, I will have different expectations for each of you. However, the intent is the same: To learn as much about the molecular aspects of immunology as you are capable/motivated to do.

Assignment for Class II Monday September 17:

Read and be prepared to discuss Janeway Chapter 2

.