223.689.01 BIOLOGIC BASIS OF VACCINE DEVELOPMENT

Provides an overview of the biologic basis for development and evaluation of new viral, bacteriologic, parasitic, and cancer vaccines. Lectures address the fundamental immunologic concepts of correlates of protective immunity underlying current and new strategies for immunization. Emphasizes the use of new technologies for expression of vaccine antigens, including recombinant DNA techniques and use of novel adjuvants and antigen-carrier systems to enhance the delivery/presentation of specific immunogens to effector sites.

After successfully completing this course, you will be prepared to: 1) Identify and describe the biological obstacles preventing development of effective vaccines for several important human pathogens; 2) Identify, analyze, and critique cutting-edge strategies for approaching these obstacles; 3) Describe several molecular mechanisms by which various adjuvants may potentiate vaccine induced immune responses; 4) Identify and explain multiple differences between the natural immune response to pathogens and the vaccine induced immune response to targeted antigens; 5) Analyze and explain the implications for bio-defense of vaccine related work on various pathogens; 6) Describe the advantages and disadvantages of several viral and bacterial vectors for the delivery of recombinant vacine antigens or DNA; 7) Understand the three signals necessary to trigger a primary immune response to a candidate vaccine antigen; 8) Understand the important role that vaccine type (i.e. live vs. killed vs. subunit) and route of administration (IM vs. ID) can play in determining the types of immune responses elicited by immunization.