Prospectus

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Allogeneic Transplantation and Immunotherapy: From Bench to Bedside

Course
2013-2014

Admission requirements

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

Description

Period: Sept 24 – Oct 19, 2011

The course will give insight into various clinical and research aspects of allogeneic stem cell transplantation and the use of allo-reactive T cells as treatment for hematological malignancies. Students will be introduced into the various aspects by seminars given by experts in the field, self-study assignments based on these seminars and a selection of recently published publications. During the course, students will practice in oral presentations on topics of their self-study assignment. Students will visit the clinical department and the diagnostic and research laboratories of the Department of Hematology, for one day each.

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

  • Different hematological diseases, as well as treatment modalities and monitoring of hematological malignancies.

  • Allo-immunity; beneficial reactivity and complications of allo-reactivity, characterization of allo-reactive T cells.

  • Immune cell and leukemic cell interactions; donor selection and graft versus host disease.

  • The relevance of antibodies in alloSCT, and the use of antibodies as targeted therapy of hematological malignancies.

  • Clinical application and development to anti-tumor therapies; in vitro selection/generation of antigen specific T cells, TCR gene transfer.

This course will particularly work on:

Research competences:
defining a research question, study-design; choice of appropriate techniques, integrating 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 the clinical and research aspects of:

  • allogeneic stem cell transplantation as treatment for hematological malignancies

  • allo-reactive T cells as treatment for relapsed malignancies after allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Mode of instruction

Plenary sessions, self study assignments, work-groups

Assessment method

Assessment will be based on the quality of oral presentations and written reports, participations in discussions and a final exam.