Innovative Immunotherapies

Objectives

At the end of the course, the student should have the ability to:

 

1.    Understand the Immunotherapy and its clinical applications;

2.    Evaluate the role of various immunotherapeutic strategies in the treatment of diseases;

3.    Report based on acquired knowledge, important issues related to the design of therapeutic measures;

4.    Interpret scientific articles and pre-clinical and clinical trials in this area communicate/explain published results;

5.    Develop a critical evaluation of therapeutic approaches and new discoveries, compared to more traditional approaches;

6.    Relate the concepts of Immunotherapies in the discussions and integration of information.

General characterization

Code

11192

Credits

3

Responsible teacher

Prof.ª Doutora Paula Videira

Hours

Weekly - Available soon

Total - Available soon

Teaching language

Portuguese

Prerequisites

 

Bibliography

Cancer Immunotherapy- Paradigms, Practice and Promise, Curiel, Tyler J. (Ed.) 2013, IX,

Cellular and Molecular Immunology, Saunders/Elsevier, 2011 by Abbas, Lichtman, and Pillai

Janeway's Immunobiology 9th Ed. Kenneth Murphy, Casey Weaver ISBN:9780815344452

Kuby Immunology; Kindt, Goldsby, Osborne

Fundamentos de Imunologia, Lidel, Fernando A. Arosa, Elsa M. Cardoso, Francisco C. Pacheco

Teaching method

The course is organized in, 12 theoretical classes and 16 theoretical-practice classes. Theoretical classes include general and specific themes and seminars, followed by theoretical-practical classes, where students will be divided by groups to work in discussion of related articles, clinical cases and/or team work.

Evaluation method

The student will be evaluated according to the weighted average of: 1) a written examination that includes material on themes explored in all classes, subject of student presentations or  written article of course unit themes (40% weighting); 2) presentation of seminars of course unit themes (40% weighting); 3) forum (weighting 20%). In the case of an improvement exam or special period, the student can choose a 100% global exam or an exam that includes the subject of the test with a value of 50% and in this case the student maintains the grade achieved for the component "presentation seminar” and “forum”.

Subject matter

General themes:

1.    Introduction to immunotherapy;

2.    Immune Tolerance: Autoimmunity, Transplantation and hypersensitivity;

3.    Vaccination and new vaccines;

4.    Tumor Immunology;

5.    Cellular circuits in chronic inflammation: identification of biomarkers and therapeutic targets;

6.    Antibody Engineering;

7.    Antigen immunotherapy targets.

 

Specific themes:

1.    Clinical applications of therapeutic antibodies;

2.    T-cell based therapies;

3.    Dendritic cell based therapies;

4.    Others cell therapies in clinical practices;

5.    Cytokines as therapeutic targets;

6.    Genetic engineering in immunotherapy;

7.    Ethical / legal and commercial considerations in new immunotherapies.

Programs

Programs where the course is taught: