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Allogeneic Transplantation and Immunotherapy: From Bench to Bedside

Vak
2014-2015

Admission requirements

  • Successful completion of How To Write A Research Proposal not obligatory, but strongly recommended.

Description

Period: Oct 20 – Nov 14, 2014
The course will give detailed insight into clinical and research aspects of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and the use of donor T lymphocytes for treatment of hematological malignancies. Students will be introduced into different aspects by seminars given by experts in the field followed by self-study assignments, which will be discussed in workgroups. Students will be trained in critical reading of recently published research papers and will practice in oral presentations and participation in discussions on the self-study assignments. Students will also visit the clinical department and the diagnostic and research laboratories of the department of Hematology.

Students will be introduced into the following aspects of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation:

  • Normal hematopoiesis, hematological malignancies and their treatment modalities.

  • A donor immune system in a transplanted patient (allo-immunity); the desired anti-tumor effect and undesired complications known as graft versus host disease.

  • The use and manipulation of donor T lymphocytes to treat hematological malignancies in transplanted patients.

  • Donor T lymphocytes recognizing polymorphic antigens in transplanted patients (allo-reactive T cells); characterization of allo-reactive T cells and their HLA-binding targets.

  • Interactions between leukemic cells and the immune system, donor selection and graft versus host disease.

  • Therapeutic antibodies to treat hematological malignancies in transplanted patients.

  • Development and clinical application of anti-tumor therapies; in vitro isolation and expansion of antigen specific T cells for adoptive transfer, TCR gene transfer.

This course will particularly work on:
Research competences:
defining a research question, study-design, choice of appropriate techniques, integration of different biomedical disciplines, knowledge of literature and methods, interpretation of results.
Professional competences:
team-work; participation in discussions; use of language; clarity, consistency and transparency in presentations; knowledge of literature and application of this knowledge, developing creativity by combining different perspectives.

Course objectives

To get detailed insight into clinical and research aspects of:

  • allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as treatment modality for hematological malignancies

  • the use of donor T lymphocytes to treat hematological malignancies after allogeneic stem cell transplantation

Mode of instruction

Plenary sessions, self-study assignments, work-groups

Assessment method

Students will be assessed for quality of oral presentations, participations in discussions, written reports and a newspaper article.