Macquarie University

Advanced Immunobiology - BIOL767

This unit provides high level studies of the systems used by animals and plants to defend themselves from infection. The holistic approach taken in this unit allows us to identify the general themes that govern all immunological reactions. It also lets us dispel some myths that have governed mainstream immunology for decades. The biggest myth may turn out to be that only vertebrate animals, primarily mammals, are capable of sophisticated immune responses with the capacity to differentiate between different types of infectious agents. New evidence from throughout the animal and plant worlds suggests that this is not true, and there have been good reasons to be suspicious of this concept from the outset. So, in BIOL767, we don’t use terms like “innate” and “adaptive” immune systems as you find them in textbooks because we think that they are outmoded. Instead, we describe immune responses in terms of three major phases that any defensive reaction must go through. These are: “recognition”, where the presence of invaders is detected; “induction”, where the responsive systems that combat invasion are activated; and “effect”, where those responsive systems destroy or otherwise neutralise the invasive threat. Most of the unit will be spent describing those three phases, and the ways in which different animals and plants manage them.

Timetable Information

For unit timetable information and session dates for external offerings please visit the Timetables@Macquarie Website.