MCB 408: IMMUNOLOGY

Instructor: Professor Beth Stadtmueller
Instructor in-person office: Mondays 4:00-5:00 PM in MCB Learning Center room 5, (inside 101 Burrill Hall)
Instructor remote office hours (by appointment only): Professor Stadtmueller Zoom Office
Offices are open during scheduled office hours only.
Contact information: bethms@illinois.edu

Course coordinator: Alejandra Stenger astenger@illinois.edu

Teaching Assistants:
Rebecca Schneider rms9@illinois.edu (Thursday Discussions ADA, ADB, ADC; office hours 4:00-5:00 PM Thursdays, room 6)
Emma Thames ethames2@illinois.edu (Friday Discussions ADD, ADE; office hours 4:00-5:00 PM Tuesdays, room 5)

Course website: www.life.illinois.edu/mcb/408
Course LMS with content/assignments: www.lon-capa.illinois.edu
Course Gradebook: ATLAS Gradebook

Course Description:

MCB 408 has been designed to provide an introduction to fundamentals of immunology with emphasis on biological application; basic background for understanding immunological responses and techniques applicable to medicine and biological research. The course is designed in three parts:

(1) Introduction to the Immune system and Innate Immunity
(2) Adaptive Immunity
(3) Immunology in health, disease and research.

However, as you will learn, the interrelated nature of immunology blurs the boundaries between these topics and thus, course discussion sections will feature activities aimed at integrating content into usable knowledge.

Credit hours: 3 undergraduate hours. 3 graduate hours.
Prerequisites: MCB 250, MCB 251, MCB 252, MCB 253, and MCB 354; or consent of instructor

Student Learning Outcomes: Following the successful completion of this course you should be able to:

  1. Understand fundamental concepts of the immune system and its interactions with the external environment (e.g. pathogens and commensal organisms).
  2. Understand fundamental concepts related to immunological research
  3. Be able to clearly communicate Immunological concepts to a general audience

Course Schedule Overview:

Section Time Days Location Notes Instructor
Lecture 10:00 AM-10:50 AM MW 4029 Campus Instructional Facility (CIF) Stadtmueller
Weekly Quiz 01:00 PM-01:00 PM W LON-CAPA Weekly 10 point; timed 30-minute quiz can be taken anytime from 1pm Wed. to 1pm Thurs.
Prof. Office hours 4:00 PM-4:50 PM M MCB Learning Center Room 5 Burrill In-person Stadtmueller
Prof. Office hours 9:00 AM-10:00 AM T Stadtmueller Zoom Office Via Zoom Stadtmueller
TA Office hours 4:00 PM-5:00 PM T MCB Learning Center Room 5 Burrill Thames
TA Office hours 4:00 PM-4:50 PM R MCB Learning Center Room 6 Burrill Schneider
Discussion ADA 01:00 PM-01:00 PM R MCB Learning Center Room 7 Burrill Schneider,
Stenger, A
Discussion ADB 02:00 PM-02:50 PM R MCB Learning Center Room 7 Burrill Schneider,
Stenger, A
Discussion ADC 3:00 PM-3:50 PM R MCB Learning Center Room 7 Burrill Schneider,
Stenger, A
Discussion ADD 10:00 AM-10:00 AM F MCB Learning Center Room 7 Burrill Thames,
Stenger, A
Discussion ADE 11:00 AM-11:00 AM F MCB Learning Center Room 7 Burrill Thames,
Stenger, A

Exams, Quiz and Project Deadlines:

Exam Time Date Location Notes Total points
Exam 1 7:00 PM-9:00 PM M, Sept. 25 141 Loomis Closed Book exam 200
Exam 2 7:00 PM-9:00 PM M, Oct. 30 141 Loomis Closed Book exam 200
Project Draft Due 5:00 PM TBA 50
Final Project Due 5:00 PM TBA 150
Exam 3 8:00-11:00 AM R, Dec. 14 TBA Closed Book exam 200
Discussion By section Weekly 7 Burrill Participation 100
Quizzes Variable Weekly LON-CAPA Open book 100

Lectures:

MW lectures will cover a broad array of topics chosen to provide you with a solid foundation in Immunology. Lectures are given in person.

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Text Books:

Required Text Books:

  1. Kuby immunology. Punt, J., S. A. Stranford, P. P. Jones and J. A. Owen (2019). New York, Macmillan Learning.

  2. An elegant defense : the extraordinary new science of the immune system : a tale in four lives. Richtel, M. (2019). New York, NY, William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Recommended Texts:

  1. How the immune system works. Sompayrac, L. (2019). Hoboken, NJ, Wiley Blackwell,: 1 online resource.

    1. This text is designed to provide straight forward and simple explanation of topics.

  2. Janeway's immunobiology, 9th edition. Murphy, K. and C. Weaver (2016). New York, NY, Garland Science/Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

    1. This is likely one of the most detailed and meticulously researched Immunology textbooks and in some cases will provide more information than required texts.

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Assigned Reading:

Assigned reading each week is intended to help you better understand lecture content, topic history, and its "real world" applications, rather than to provide additional content. Reading is assigned in conjunction with the related lecture(s) and it is recommended that you complete the reading assigned for each week prior to taking the Quiz. Reading has been selected to take at most (but typically less than) 4 hours. Most assigned reading is from Kuby Immunology and An Elegant Defense; however in some cases, additional sources will be posted and students are encouraged to consult recommended texts in cases where a simpler explantion or a deeper understanding is desired.

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Discussion Sections:

For the first 2/3 of the course, discussion sections are structured as team-based learning activities (TBLs). Each discussion section will be divided into four groups of ~ 5 students each. Together the group will address a question or complete a project and report back to the class with the answer/completed project. TBL topics will draw from lecture and reading content provided each week and each group member will be given a participation role.

Reader: Reads directions and/or questions out loud to group
Scribe: Records group activities in google doc.
Researchers: Consult text, lectures, online resources
Reporter: Summarizes and reports group consensus to class

Group members and roles will change throughout the semester and be assigned by the TA.
During the final 1/3 of the course discussion sections will still involve team-based activities, but will focus on providing guidance and working on final projects.

Each student will be awarded 10 points for participation in each discussion section up to 100 points. You are encouraged to attend all 14 discussion sections, however, you can miss up to 4 discussions without affecting your final grade.

Attendance will be recorded at every discussion session. Each student is required to arrive within the first five minutes of class, remain present for the entire class period, and be an active participant in order to receive credit. If you are more than 5 minutes late, you forfeit your discussion points for that week, but you may stay for the class period. If you are on time but are not contributing to your group you also forfeit attendance points for that week at the discretion of the TA. Questions or clarifications should be addressed to the TAs in discussion or in their office hours.

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Quizzes:

A 10-point, 10-question quiz will be given each week to assess student understanding of that week's lecture content. 14 Quizzes will be given total; and you may miss up to three quizzes or drop your lowest three grades for a total of 100 possible points. Make-up quizzes are not planned. Quizzes will be given online and are open-book. Each week, the quiz will be available from Wednesday 1pm to Thursday at 1pm. Once you start a quiz you will have 30 minutes to complete it.

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Exams:

Three exams, 200 points each, will be given to assess student understanding of the content. Exams will focus on content presented in lectures and discussion sections. The course is divided into three ~ 5-week sessions (see course description and course calendar), each of which concludes with an exam. Exams will be given online and will feature a closed-book, multiple-choice format. Each exam is intended primarily to test knowledge on the content from that session; however, a minority of the questions may integrate content from earlier parts of the course. Please see Policies Section for more information.

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Final Project:

With a fundamental understand of any topic, one should have the skills to communicate that topic to a general (uneducated on the topic) audience. Throughout the course we will be reading "An Elegant Defense" By Matt Richtel, a book written to communicate various Immunology topics to a general audience. Your final assignment will be to write a chapter that might appear in this book. The goal of your chapter will be to report (to a general audience, e.g. your grandmother or your roommate) on any way that the immune system and Sars CoV 2 interact. For the specific topic you select (e.g. the role that T-cells play in the immune response to Sars CoV 2) you should comment on what we do know (based on research to date) and what we don't yet know (outstanding questions on the topic). The Chapter should be no longer than 1000 words and should reference at least five sources. We will provide selected literature that you can choose from, but you are not restricted to that literature. During the final third of the course we will provide discussion section guidance on how to write your chapter as well as feedback on your topic. A draft or detailed outline is due TBD and the TBD.

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Grading:

Each course has a grade scale. The grade you earn in the course will be based on the points that you earn. Effort is reflected in points earned. We will adhere to the grade scale when assigning grades in order to avoid capriciousness and to adhere to fairness and equity for all students.

Student grades in MCB 408 will be based on total of 1000 points. Categories listed below are approximate but should closely resemble the final distribution.

  3 exams   600  
  Final Project   200  
  Quizzes   100  
  Discussion Participation   100  
  Total   1000  points  

A more specific point breakdown for MCB 408 follows:

100 points   Discussion attendance and participation (13 @ 10 points each, drop 3)
100 points   Quizzes (14 @ 10 points each, drop 4)
600 points   Exams (3 @ 200 points each)
200 points   Final Project (50 point for draft; 150 for final version)
1000 points   Total

The point totals contained in the following table represent the use of the plus/minus grading system coupled with a 4.0 grade point system. The grade point values shown for each letter grade have been assigned by the University. Students who earn the points shown below (out of 1000 possible points), will be guaranteed the indicated letter grade. At semester's end, after the final exam, the faculty will analyze the course grade distribution, and may decrease (to accommodate poor class performance on an examination), but will not increase the points needed for each grade.

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MCB 408 Standard Grade Scale:

Letter Grade

Point Ranges

Grade Point Value

A+

1000–950

4.000

A

949–899

4.000

A-

898–848

3.667

B+

847–797

3.333

B

796–746

3.000

B-

745–695

2.667

C+

694–644

2.333

C

643–593

2.000

C-

592–542

1.667

D+

541–491

1.333

D

490–440

1.000

D-

439–389

0.667

F

338–0

0.000
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MCB 408 GRADEBOOK

The MCB 408 Gradebook can be accessed directly at:

      https://apps.atlas.illinois.edu/Gradebook/

Scores on exams will be available for student review on the MCB 408 Gradebook. To check your scores, sign into the MCB 408 Web site and click on the Gradebook link and follow the instructions presented there. All students are responsible for checking their scores on the Gradebook after each exam is returned to them. Each student is responsible for reporting possible discrepancies to the TA and if immediate action is not taken, the student is responsible for bringing this to the attention of Alejandra Stenger within ONE week of receiving their graded score. Students are encouraged to keep all graded papers returned to them until after final grades are issued.

The final deadline for Gradebook corrections is 5:00 PM, Wednesday, 6 December 2023.

No Gradebook scores will be altered after this deadline so please be certain to check all your scores before this time.

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MCB 408 POLICIES

  1. The course faculty and the TAs are in charge of the orderly conduct of students in class and may exclude a student who does not comply with a reasonable request in this regard.

  2. All students are assumed to have read and understood the Code Of Policies And Regulations Applying To All Students, University of Illinois, and will be expected to act accordingly.

    The Code is available online at: studentcode.illinois.edu

  3. Concerns over exam grading, discussion teaching or grading, and exam or discussion absences should be directed to the MCB 408 Course Coordinator.

  4. The deadline for grade corrections on all items is ONE week after corrected items are returned or grades are received.

  5. Excused class time compensating for evening exams is provided by review sessions given during discussion sections.

  6. Social Media Use:

    • Use of any social or electronic media to share information, request information or make confidential information public is prohibited. Any use of this type may earn you a zero or a more extreme penalty at the discretion of the instructor on an assignment or exam.

    • Any social media sites created in relation to MCB courses must grant access to course personnel upon request. Failure to provide access will result in a failing grade in the course for the group/site's administrator(s).

  7. Course Material:

    • Students are welcome and encouraged to make audio recordings of course lectures.

    • The material recorded is intellectual and copyrighted property of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees and may be made for personal use only.

    • Video recordings of any kind are strictly prohibited.

    • Posting of audio recordings or transcriptions on social or electronic media platforms is strictly prohibited.

    • Posting or redistributing of course material in any format is strictly prohibited.

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CLASS ATTENDANCE

  1. Regular class attendance is expected of all students at the University. (http://odos.illinois.edu/studentAssistance/absence/revised_code.asp)

  2. The Office of the Dean of Students will only provide informative letters to instructors for protracted illness of 3 or more days, certain emergencies and to be present during the serious illness of immediate family members (parents, legal guardian, spouse/partner, siblings, children, or grandparents). These letters do not excuse you from class but merely provide information for the instructor to consider with regard to excusing the absence and permitting make-up work. Students must request absence letters from the Office of the Dean of Students after the student has returned to class but not more than 10 business days after the last date of absence.

  3. Absences that may be excused without a letter include circumstances beyond the student's control such as medical treatment, surgery related to prolonged illness or injury, pregnancy, legal matters, citizenship or naturalization processes, or acts of nature which cause destruction to a primary residence or disrupt air travel. All will require documentation.

  4. Absences that may also be excused without a letter from the Dean of Students Office include job, graduate or professional school interviews, though a best effort should be made to schedule these events to minimize class attendance disruption. All will require documentation.

  5. Absences that will not be excused include family events such as reunions or weddings, or presence during serious illness of extended family members (aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or cousin).

  6. Absences, when they occur after the first day of classes but prior to enrollment in the course, will require the use of dropped assignments if applicable.

  7. Absences will be handled according to individual course policy.

    1. Attendance will be recorded at every discussion session. Students must arrive within the first five minutes of class, remain present for the entire class period, and be an active participant in order to receive credit. If you are more than 5 minutes late, you forfeit your discussion points for that week, but you may stay for the class period. If you are on time but are not contributing to your group you also forfeit attendance points for that week at the discretion of the TA.

    2. Students must attend their scheduled discussion section. Students must at all times attend the discussion section in which they are currently enrolled. Students will not be allowed to sit in other sections at other times for any reason without permission from the course coordinator.

    3. We know that students become ill and other reasons beyond a student's control arise. In order to accommodate absences due to minor illness or emergency, we allow that a specified number of discussion assignments may be missed without penalty. These missed discussions can be dropped according to the criteria set forth in the Course Policies for this course. Specifically for MCB 408, a student that misses discussion due to minor illness (less than 3 days), chooses not to attend class, and/or forgets to attend class or complete an assignment will use these specified drops. There is no distinction made between illness and missing discussion assignments.

    4. If you experience an illness (chronic, recurring or lasting three days or more) or other circumstance that causes an extended absence from class (lasting three days or more), please contact the Student Assistance Center in the Office of the Dean of Students during business hours (8:30 AM - 5:00 PM). This office is located on the 3rd floor of the Turner Student Services Building, 610 E. John Street, Champaign, 217-333-0050. A representative of that office will provide us with the necessary information to address your circumstance. Please fill out an online absence form for your course which can be found on the course website (https://apps.atlas.illinois.edu/MCB/McbAbsence).

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STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

  1. The Code of Policies and Regulations Applying to All Students will be applied in all instances of academic misconduct committed by students. This applies to all exams, presentations, assignments and materials distributed or used in this course. You can review these policies at the following website: http://admin.illinois.edu/policy/code/index.html and specifically here:
    http://studentcode.illinois.edu/article1/part4/1-401/

  2. Science cannot exist without honesty. The faculty and staff in MCB require students, as scientists--in-the-making, to hold the highest standards of scientific and academic conduct. Any form of cheating on any graded work in courses is unacceptable.

  3. We require that all graded work be entirely your own, and that anything you write using the words of other writers be correctly attributed. Some specific points follow:

    • On exams, the answers that your turn in for grading must be your own, formulated during the exam from your own understanding of the material and without any supporting information, be it written, verbal or electronic. Copying the work of another student, or allowing another to copy your work, or copying work from any other source, is unacceptable. Since we cannot always monitor you as you complete your work, we must rely upon appearance of your work from which to judge. If the work you submit resembles that of another student or another source too closely, we may conclude that it was not your original work. Always make a conscious effort to complete your work on your own and to protect it from the view of others, in order to ensure that it will be seen as your own. Failure to adhere to these standards for any portion of an exam may result in a grade of zero for the entire exam or quiz for all persons involved.

    • Texting, or the use of a cell phone or any other device for any purpose, during a quiz or exam is prohibited. Doing so may earn you a zero or a more extreme penalty on the quiz or exam at the discretion of the instructor.

    • Use of any social or electronic media to share information, request information or make confidential information public is prohibited. Any use of this type may earn you a zero on the exam or a more extreme penalty at the discretion of the instructor.

    • On written or electronic assignments, the answers that you turn in for grading must be written in your own words, formulated from your own understanding of the material. While you may be working with other students in the course, you must formulate and submit your own answers. Copying or paraphrasing the work of another student, or allowing another to copy or paraphrase your work, is unacceptable. Since we cannot monitor you as you complete your work, we have only the appearance of your work from which to judge. If the work you submit resembles that of another student too closely, we may conclude that it was not your original work. Always make a conscious effort to complete your work on your own and to protect it from the view of others, in order to ensure that it will be seen as your own. You must also make a conscious effort to protect your passwords and accounts. Failure to adhere to these standards may result in a grade of zero for the entire assignment for all persons involved.

    • On written or electronic assignments, if you use a statement taken directly from any book or other publication, including the course textbook, you must provide a citation. That is, you must put the text in quotes and put the author of the publication in parentheses after the quotation. Failure to do so will result in zero credit for that answer. Further, using only the words of another author as your entire answer or as the majority of your answer to any question is never sufficient to earn credit. If the majority of your work has been taken directly from a publication, you are likely to receive no credit for the work, since you would not be demonstrating knowledge beyond the ability to copy. Even if you quote another, your answer must be substantially your own words, drawn from your own understanding of the material.

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MCB CURRICULUM POLICIES

For non-academic campus assistance and support:

  • See Office of Diversity, Equity and Access (ODEA) information at the end of this page.

Student Advocacy Resources:

Contacting MCB Course Personnel:

  • MCB course personnel are more than happy to assist students.
  • Emails to instructors, TAs, or course coordinators will only be answered if they come from an @illinois.edu account. We will only use this account in order to protect your educational information and profile. As a student, please remember that when you email a staff member, it is important to include all pertinent information so that we can assist you in the most efficient and effective manner possible. This information includes:
    • The course rubric in the subject line
    • Your full first and last name
    • Your NetID (the first part of your illinois.edu email account)
    • Your UIN (9 digit number that can be found on your ICard)
    • The course that you are concerned about (the course personnel often work with multiple courses)
    • Your section letter/number
    • The previous email "thread" or previous communicated information pertinent to the situation
  • Your cooperation will help us respond much more quickly to your concerns.

Policies:

  • Unfamiliarity with policies is not a defense for not knowing what they cover.

Religious Observances and Practices

DRES ACCOMMODATIONS

  • We are committed to providing a learning environment where our students can succeed. If you require special accommodations, please contact us and the Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) as soon as possible. To contact DRES, you may visit 1207 S. Oak Street, Champaign, call 217-333-4603, or email disability@illinois.edu. We will try to meet all accommodations once the process has started. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive to the beginning of the semester, but begin the day you contact your professor, instructor or coordinator with a current letter of accommodation from DRES.
  • If a student believes that they need DRES accommodations, they should contact DRES at disability@illinois.edu.
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STUDENT RESOURCES/WHERE TO GO FOR HELP

We Care at Illinois:

(http://www.wecare.illinois.edu)

Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender are Civil Rights offenses subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, etc. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you can find the appropriate resources here: http://oiir.illinois.edu/sites/prod/files/SexualMisconduct_ResourceGuide.pdf

Safety and Emergency:

University Police Department, Emergency, 9-911; Non-emergency, (217) 333-8911 University Fire Department Emergency, 9-911 Crisis Line, (217) 359-4141 Emergency Dean, 300 Turner Student Services Bldg., 610 E. John St., (217) 333-0050 Counseling Center, 110 Turner Student Services Bldg., 610 E. John St., (217) 333-3704 McKinley Health Center, General Information, 1109 S. Lincoln Ave., (217) 333-2701 McKinley Mental Health Center, 1109 S. Lincoln Ave., (217) 333-2705 Dean of Students, 300 Turner Students Services Bldg, 610 E. John St., (217) 333-0050 Local Sexual Assault Center, RACES, (217) 384-4444 Women's Resources Center, 703 South Wright Street, 2nd Floor, (217) 333-3137 Rape Crisis 24-hour Hotline, (217) 384-4444 Suicide & Psychological Emergency, Suicide Prevention Team, (217) 333-3704 SafeRides (free nighttime campus ride program), (217) 265-RIDE (265-7433) SafeWalks (free walking escort service by Student Patrol), (217) 333-1216

Student Services and Advocacy

Office of the Dean of Students, 300 Student Services Bldg., 610 E. John St., (217) 333-0050

Classroom Support, Teaching Skills, and Instructional Strategies

Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning, 249 Armory Building, (217) 333-1462
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UNIVERSITY INFORMATION ON STUDENT SAFETY

Active Threats:

  • General Emergency Response Recommendations (Emergency Response Guide)

  • Security Threat. The Department of Homeland Security and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Office of Campus Emergency Planning recommend the following three responses to any emergency on campus:
    RUN > HIDE > FIGHT

  • Only follow these actions if safe to do so. When in doubt, follow your instincts - you are your best advocate!

  • RUN - Action taken to leave an area for personal safety.

    • Take the time to learn the different ways to leave your building before there is an emergency.
    • Evacuations are mandatory for fire alarms and when directed by authorities! No exceptions!
    • Evacuate immediately. Pull manual fire alarm to prompt a response for others to evacuate.
    • Take critical personal items only (keys, purse, and outerwear) and close doors behind you.
    • Assist those who need help, but carefully consider whether you may put yourself at risk.
    • Look for Exit signs indicating potential egress/escape routes.
    • If you are not able to evacuate, go to an Area of Rescue Assistance, as indicated on the campus plan.
    • Evacuate to Evacuation Assembly Area, as indicated on the campus plan.
    • Remain at Evacuation Assembly Area until additional instructions are given.
    • Alert authorities to those who may need assistance.
    • Do not re-enter building until informed by emergency response personnel that it is safe to return.
    • Active Threat: IF it is safe to do so, run out of the building. Get as far away as possible. Do NOT go to the Evacuation Assembly Area.

  • HIDE - Action taken to seek immediate shelter indoors when emergency conditions do not warrant or allow evacuation.

    • Severe Weather:
      • If you are outside, proceed to the nearest protective building.
      • If sheltering-in-place due to severe weather, proceed to the identified Storm Refuge Area or to the lowest, most interior area of the building away from windows or hazardous equipment or materials.
    • Active Threat:
      • Lock or barricade your area.
      • Get to a place where the threat cannot see you.
      • Place cell phones on silent.
      • Do not make any noise.
      • Do not come out until you receive an Illini-Alert advising you it is safe.

  • FIGHT - Action taken as a last resort to increase your odds of survival.

    • Active Threat: If you cannot run away safely or hide, be prepared to fight with anything available to increase your odds for survival.

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