Immunoengineering

The immune system is one of the most complex and powerful systems in the human body as it plays integral roles in maintaining homeostasis, wound healing, disease progression, chronic inflammation, autoimmunity, and cancer. Dysregulation of immune cells can cause disease progression; conversely, therapeutics capable of regulating immune cells can promote tissue regeneration or cancer cell killing. Immune engineering holds great potential for the development of therapeutics aimed at a broad range of diseases from autoimmunity to cancer and beyond. In this course, we will: (1) review key components of the immune system, (2) read and discuss primary research articles describing well-established and new immunotherapeutics, (3) discuss key concepts and laboratory techniques used in the design of immunotherapeutics, including strategies used to target drug delivery and design lipid nanoparticles, and (4) apply these concepts to design novel immune therapies.