3 ECTS credits
75 u studietijd
Aanbieding 1 met studiegidsnummer 4021493ENR voor alle studenten in het 2e semester met een verdiepend master niveau.
This course provides an Introduction to the basic principles of vaccine technology. More specifically, the course will
(1) overview the existing vaccines and the types of infectious diseases kept under control by vaccination. This will include an insight in the type of immune response needed to prevent an infectious agent from causing illness.
(2) provide a historic overview of vaccine development.
(3) discuss vaccine requirements and classifications.
(4) provide a deeper insight in the biological working mechanisms of vaccines and adjuvants. This will include an overview of currently used adjuvants and adjuvants under develoment, their interaction with the immune system, their pros and cons for use against specific pathogens.
(5) elaborate on anti-tumor vaccines and anti-tumor immunotherapy. This will include the discovery of tumor-associated antigens and types of tumor-associated antigens, passive immunotherapy by the adoptive transfer of anti-tumor T lymphocytes, active immunotherapy via dendritic cell vaccination, immune checkpoint blockade.
(6) provide a brief overview of safety issues & regulations.
(7) discuss a case study, providing insight in to the roadmap for the development of a particular vaccine within a pharmaceutical company.
contact: jo.van.ginderachter@vub.be
The powerpoint slides for this course are made available on the Canvas platform.
- Students understand the basic components of a vaccine and can link these components to the functionality of a vaccine
- Students are able to clarify the relationship between the type of infectious agent and the type of immune responses needed to defend ourselves against this pathogen. Linked to this, the students are able to reason which type of vaccine is required for which type of infection.
- The students are able define the working mechanisms of the most commonly used vaccines and adjuvants. The student can reason which type of adjuvant would be most suitable for the development of a vaccine against which type of pathogen.
- The students are able to argue about the most important pitfalls of anti-tumor immunotherapy and can provide potential solutions.
- The students are able to define the most common safety issues and regulations for the development of vaccines. This includes an understanding of the different steps in clinical trials.
- The students can describe and understand the necessity of the different developmental steps of a vaccine in an industrial environment.
De beoordeling bestaat uit volgende opdrachtcategorieën:
Examen Andere bepaalt 100% van het eindcijfer
Binnen de categorie Examen Andere dient men volgende opdrachten af te werken:
The evaluation consists of an oral exam with written preparation (15 min preparation, 15 min interrogation). The students receive three open questions, which includes (i) a question taken from one chapter of the course, (ii) a question interrogating a broader concept, whereby aspects of different chapters need to be combined, (iii) a small problem, for which a plausible solution needs to be found. During the oral interrogation, the student will be further probed based upon the initial responses he/she has prepared. The questions will probe both knowledge, insight and the capacity to apply the knowledge to concrete problems.
Deze aanbieding maakt deel uit van de volgende studieplannen:
Master of Molecular Biology: Standaard traject (enkel aangeboden in het Engels)
Master in de biologie: moleculaire en cellulaire biowetenschappen
Master of Biology: Molecular and Cellular Life sciences (enkel aangeboden in het Engels)
Master of Biology: Ecology and Biodiversity (enkel aangeboden in het Engels)