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BIO3216 Immunopathology and Clinical Microbiology

Semester 2, 2023 External
Units : 1
School or Department : School of Health and Medical Sciences
Grading basis : Graded
Course fee schedule : /current-students/administration/fees/fee-schedules

Staffing

Course Coordinator:

Requisites

Pre-requisite: BIO2106

Overview

This course builds on the on the medical microbiology and introductory immunology study in second year and is designed to consolidate the student鈥檚 knowledge of the essential mechanisms and pathways of a normally functioning human immune system. The course then aims to provide students with an advanced understanding of immunological diseases that are derived from inherited and acquired sources of which many are diagnosed by the propensity for the host to develop infections. Students also undertake instruction in a broad spectrum of immunological diseases including organ specific and systemic autoimmune diseases, tissue allograft rejection and immunodeficiency.
Detailed analysis of specific immune disease syndromes, together with discussion of relevant diagnostic and therapeutic options will enable the student to integrate and advance their investigative skills that can be applied to a range of associated pathology orientated clinical disciplines such as histopathology, haematology, biochemistry and molecular pathology. This study will enhance the student鈥檚 capacity to make critical and informed judgements in a professional clinical sciences setting.

This course builds on the foundation theoretical knowledge and practical skill set provided in previous courses in medical microbiology and immunology and provides students with an advanced level of study of the principal mechanisms and pathways that underpin a functional immune system; the pathogenesis of inherited and acquired immunological dysfunctions and the associated host susceptibilities to infectious diseases. This course will consolidate a student's understanding of clinical immunology and then present advanced studies in immunopathology from both innate and acquired disease perspectives that has a focus on understanding dysfunctional immune regulation, aberrant hypersensitivity reactions, immunodeficiency, autoimmunity and allograft rejection. The student's comprehension of specific immunological pathologies will be further supplemented with applied case studies. Students will also gain an advanced understanding of the relationship between immune dysfunction and increased susceptibility to infectious diseases. Analysis of complex case studies in dysfunctional immunological syndromes, including emerging immunodeficiency states and autoimmune diseases will continue to provide opportunities for students to develop their investigative and reporting skills. This course will provide students an opportunity to further advance their practical skills in a setting that will also encourage critical thinking during the generation, analysis, interpretation and reporting of complex microbiological data.

This course contains a mandatory residential school for both external and on-campus students. As part of the UniSQ accreditation agreement with the Australian Institute of Medical and Clinical Scientists (AIMS), students are required to attempt and submit all assessment items in this course. Students are also required to obtain at least 50% of the marks allocated to the practical/laboratory skills assessment in this course.

Course learning outcomes

On completion of this course students should be able to:

  1. Detail the fundamental nature of a normally functioning immune system including differentiating the ontogeny and effector functions of immune cells and the role of MHC I and MHC II in allograft rejection and CD4 and CD8 cell functionality;
  2. Interpret the role of T cells in immunological functionality including the nature of cytokines mediation on effector functions such immune regulation and immune tolerance;
  3. Describe the nature of normal and dysfunctional effector functions of innate, adaptive and acquired immune modalities such as hypersensitivity, inflammation, transplantation, vaccinology, immunotherapy, as well as specific immunopathology syndromes of autoimmunity, immunodeficiency, immune tolerance;
  4. Describe the pathogenesis and diagnosis of specific autoimmune diseases including Rheumatic Heart Disease, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Sjogren Syndrome, Systemic sclerosis and other immune syndromes and perform analysis of clinical case studies associated with specific autoimmune syndromes;
  5. Explain the correlation between immunological disease and the host susceptibility to specific or recurrent infections;
  6. Discuss the practice of clinical microbiology in terms epidemiology, antimicrobial therapeutics and infection control guidelines;
  7. Perform complex laboratory experiments safely, including conventional and molecular microbiological and immunological investigative methods, data generation, analysis, interpretation and reporting;
  8. Critically review and interpret relevant literature from research databases in order to analyse laboratory and clinical case studies;
  9. Display safe infection management and infection control practices relevant to both university residential schools and professional pathology laboratory settings and comply with ethical and privacy standards mandated for the professional healthcare and academic settings.

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Review of the normally functional human immune system from cell mediated and humoral immunity perspectives. 3.00
2. The range and functionality of cellular and subcellular immune components including the interaction between innate and acquired immune cells and associated effector functions; cytokine functionality and mediation in immune function; the role of Th (CD4) array of cells in immune functions; the nature and functionality of Major Histocompatibility Complexes on immune function. 10.00
3. A study of specific modalities of normal and dysfunctional immune functions including: immune regulation; hypersensitivity, inflammation, transplantation, vaccines, immunotherapy, immunodeficiency, autoimmunity and immune deficiency, allograft rejection, defects in innate and adaptive immunity. 24.00
4. Examination of specific autoimmune disease syndromes including: Rheumatic heart Disease, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Sjogren Syndrome, Systemic Sclerosis, Sepsis, Pyrexia of Unknown Origin. 20.00
5. Analysis of a range of case studies from clinical and applied perspectives that demonstrate immunological involvement in human diseases.
30.00
6. An overview of clinical microbiology perspectives in epidemiology, antimicrobial therapeutics, advances in medical microbiology pathology laboratory methods and infection control guidelines. 13.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

No specific textbooks are required for this course.

Student workload expectations

To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks. If you are undertaking additional activities, which may include placements and residential schools, the weekly workload hours may vary.

Assessment details

Approach Type Description Group
Assessment
Weighting (%) Course learning outcomes
Assignments Written Essay 1 No 20 1,2,3,4,5,8
Assignments Written Report No 20 3,5,6,7,8,9
Assignments Written Essay 2 No 20 1,2,3,4,5,8
Examinations Invigilated Invigilated examination No 40 1,3,4,5,6
Date printed 9 February 2024