SC1 and SC4: Immunology Basics for Drug Discovery

SC1: part1: Immune system overview 
27 November 2018 | 18:00-20:30 

sc4: part2: immune-oncology and autoimmunity
29 NOVEMBER 2018 | 19:00-21:30

Both short courses will provide an introduction to human immunology for discovery pharmacologists, biologists and chemists working in the biopharmaceutical industry on inflammation, autoimmune, or immuno-oncology programs. Part 1 will focus on how the immune system is organized and gives rise to both normal and pathogenic immune responses. Part 2, after briefly reviewing the organization of the immune system, will focus on how the immune system can be modulated through biopharmaceutical intervention to either enhance anti-tumor immunity or suppress pathogenic inflammation.

Instructor:
Thomas Sundberg, PhD, Group Leader, Cellular Pharmacology, Center for Development of Therapeutics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Topics to be discussed:

Part 1: Immune System Overview

  • Organization of the immune system
  • Pathogen recognition by innate immune cells
  • Antigen generation, capture, and presentation to lymphocytes
  • Effector mechanisms of T cell responses
  • Antibody generation and antibody-mediated cytotoxicity
  • Molecular basis of pathogenic immune responses

Part 2: Immune-oncology and Autoimmunity

  • Protein-based immunomodulatory therapies
  • Basic principles of immune-oncology (e.g., checkpoint blockade)
  • Targeting immune processes with small molecules
  • Role of host-microbe interactions in shaping the immune system

Instructor Biography:

Thomas Sundberg, Ph.D., Group Leader, Cellular Pharmacology, Center for the Development of Therapeutics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Thomas Sundberg is a Senior Research Scientist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The focus of his research at the Broad Institute is identification and therapeutic development of small molecules that enhance anti-inflammatory functions of innate immune cells as potential first-in-class therapies for immunological and inflammatory disorders. Sundberg completed his Ph.D. in chemical biology at the University of Michigan where he studied apoptotic signaling in T lymphocytes. He joined the Broad Institute upon completion of an American Cancer Society funded post-doctoral fellowship at Yale University in 2012 and was selected as an Exceptional Performer during the Broad Institute’s 2012-2013 performance management cycle.


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