Brian Catchpole is Professor of Companion Animal Immunology at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London. He graduated from the RVC in 1992 and after a period of time in veterinary clinical practice, returned to London to undertake a Wellcome Trust veterinary research training fellowship in the Infection & Immunity group at King's College London. After gaining his PhD, he returned to the RVC, initially as a postdoctoral research fellow and subsequently as a member of academic staff. Brian's research is focused on canine immunology, including studies into infectious disease (leptospirosis), immunosenescence, cancer immunotherapy and immune-mediated disease in dogs. Brian has been teaching immunology to veterinary undergraduates for the past 20 years.

Harm HogenEsch is a Distinguished Professor of Immunopathology in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology of the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. He received his DVM degree from the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands, and PhD in immunology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. He worked for 3 years at the Institute for Aging and Vascular Research in Leiden, the Netherlands, before joining Purdue University. Harm's research interests include vaccine development and the immunopathology of allergic skin disease. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles and 22 book chapters. Harm teaches an immunology course for first year veterinary students and graduate students.

An overview of the immune system Important concepts and principles of innate and adaptive immunity. Introduction. History of immunology. The immune system: An overview. Principles of innate immunity. Principles of adaptive immunity. Evolution of the immune system. Key points. Cells and tissues of the immune system. Introduction. Haematopoesis and production of white blood cells. Primary lymphoid tissues. Secondary lymphoid tissues. The lymphatic system, lymphocyte recirculation and immune surveillance. Key points. Innate immunity. Introduction. Defensive barriers. Pattern-recognition receptors. Phagocytes and phagocytosis. Innate lymphoid cells and natural killer cells. Lymphocytes with restricted diversity of antigen receptors. The interferon response. The inflammatory response. The acute phase response. Systemic inflammatory response syndrome. The complement system. Key points. Lymphocyte development. Introduction. Antigen recognition by lymphocytes. Development of B lymphocytes. T cell development and maturation. Key points. The major histocompatibility complex and antigen presentation. Introduction. The major histocompatibility complex. MHC class I processing pathway. MHC class II processing pathway. Antigen presentation by CD1 molecules to NKT cells. Antigen presenting cells. Genetics and inheritance of the MHC. MHC associations with immune function and disease. MHC and transplantation / tissue graft rejection. Key points. Cytokines, chemokines and their receptors. Introduction. Chemokines and chemokine receptors. Cytokines and cytokine receptors. Key points. The biology of T lymphocytes. Introduction. Chemokines and chemokine receptors. Cytokines and cytokine receptors. Key points. Antibody structure and function. Introduction. Antibody structure. Antibody binding to antigen. Biological properties of antibody. Immunoglobulin classes. Key points. The biology of B lymphocytes. Introduction. Antigen recognition by B cells. Activation of B lymphocytes. The immunoglobulin class switch. Kinetics of the antibody response. Monoclonal antibodies. Key points. Immunodiagnostics: Serology, immunoassays and measurement of cell-mediated immunity. Introduction. Serological tests and immunoassays. Immunophenotyping. Lymphocyte stimulation assays. Tests of cytotoxic function. Tests of phagocytic cell function. Key points. The immune response to infectious agents. Introduction. The immune response to viral infection. The immune response to bacterial infection. The immune response to helmith infection. The immune response to protozoal infection. The immune response to fungal infection. Key points. Immune evasion by pathogens. Introduction. Evading the innate immune response. Evading the antibody-mediated adaptive immune response. Evading the cell-mediated adaptive immune response.Specific viral strategies for immune evasion. Key points. Vaccination. Introduction. Passive immunization. Active immunization. Vaccine technologies. Vaccines for non-infectious diseases. Vaccine adjuvants. Routes of administering vaccines. Basic principles of vaccination. Vaccination failure. Adverse consequences of vaccination. Key points. Immune system ontogeny and neonatal immunology. Introduction. Immune system ontogeny. Passive transfer of maternal immune protection. Neonatal vaccination. Failure of passive transfer. Neonatal isoerythrolysis. Early life immune development. Key points. Immunological tolerance and immune suppression. Introduction. Tolerance and tolerance mechanisms. Central tolerance. Peripheral tolerance. Mucosal tolerance. Fetomaternal and neonatal tolerance. Antibody-mediated suppression. The neuroendocrine-immunological loop. Key points. Immunodeficiency. Introduction. Primary immunodeficiency. Secondary immunodeficiency. Key points. Hypersensitivity reactions. Introduction. The Gell and Coombs classification of hypersensitivity. Type I hypersensitivity. Type II hypersensitivity. Type III hypersensitivity. Type IV hypersensitivity. Key points. Hypersensitivity disorders and allergic disease. Introduction. Factors predisposing to allergic disease. Systemic allergic reactions. Allergic skin disease. Respiratory disease. Gastrointestinal disease. Diagnosis of allergic disease. Key points. Autoimmunity and autoimmune disease. Introduction. The genetic basis for autoimmunity. Intrinsic / host factors in susceptibility to autoimmune disease. Extrinsic / environmental factors in susceptibility to autoimmunity. Autoimmune diseases mediated by autoantibodies. Autoimmune diseases mediated by autoreactive T cells. Diagnostic tests for autoimmune disease. Key points. Cancer immunology and immune system neoplasia. Introduction. Tumour antigens. The anti-tumour immune response. Tumour-promoting immune activity. Immune evasion by tumours. Immunotherapy to enhance the anti-tumour immune response. Tumours of the immune system. Key points. Immunotherapy. Introduction. Immunosuppressive agents. Janus kinase inhibitors. Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. Allergen-specific immunotherapy. Monoclonal antibody therapy. Cytokine therapy. Immunostimulatory agents. Key points. Case studies in clinical immunology.