[bioundgrd] Fwd: NEW IAP CLASS Demystifying immunology for everyone: the immune system during states of disease

[Janice Chang]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Stefani Spranger <spranger at mit.edu>
Subject: NEW IAP CLASS Demystifying immunology for everyone: the immune system during states of disease
Date: October 28, 2026 at 9:50:09 AM EDT
To: Janice Chang <jdchang at mit.edu<mailto:jdchang at mit.edu>)

Hi everyone,

Over the last several years, there has been a growing appreciation of the immune system's role in a wide range of clinical conditions, and understanding immune responses has become increasingly important across many aspects of health and disease.

This shift is also reflected across the MIT campus, where many research programs have begun incorporating aspects of immunology into their work, and trainees are increasingly eager to explore immunological questions. However, not every trainee or laboratory needs deep, expert-level training in immunology. The field is broad, complex, and can sometimes feel daunting, particularly for those without a formal background in the subject.

To address the growing need among MIT trainees and faculty to engage with immunology research and scientific literature, I will be offering a new course (7.241) during IAP, specifically designed for participants with little or no prior immunology training but a strong interest in the field. The course will meet twice weekly and include four lectures covering broad areas of immunology and three discussion sessions focused on seminal or recent research papers. The goal is not to master immunology, but rather to demystify its concepts and jargon, making the field and its scientific literature more accessible.

As a final assignment, participants will work in groups to identify outstanding challenges in immunology and develop innovative experimental approaches to address them. In addition to the classroom sessions, there will be a strong expectation of independent preparation, ideally in groups, including reading review articles associated with each week's topic.

The course is open to everyone at MIT, regardless of prior immunology experience. The syllabus is attached for additional details.

Please feel free to share this email widely with anyone who might be interested! And I am happy to answer any questions you might have.

Best,

Stefani





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