Competencies and objectives

 

Course context for academic year 2025-26

Immunology is a core discipline in the education of future physicians, as it provides the foundation for understanding the body’s defense mechanisms against pathogenic agents, as well as the processes involved in a wide range of diseases with high prevalence and clinical impact. Historically, the birth of immunology is linked to the development of vaccines, but its evolution has been rapid in recent decades, incorporating knowledge of innate and adaptive immunity, antigen-antibody molecular interactions, immune signaling, and the role of the immune system in both physiological and pathological processes.

This course integrates the essential content of immunology (Basic Immunology) with more applied aspects related to the diagnosis and treatment of major immune-related diseases (Applied Immunology). Its aim is to provide medical students not only with a deep understanding of the physiological functioning of the immune system, but also of its disorders and its role in numerous diseases. This includes an overview of primary and secondary immunodeficiencies, allergy, autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases, transplant rejection, immune-related cancers, and chronic infections, as well as other conditions in which immune system dysfunction may manifest clinically, such as immunosenescence or immunologically mediated infertility.
The laboratory component will cover the main diagnostic tools used in Immunology Departments/Units of any hospital, such as ELISA, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry, along with the fundamentals of modern immunotherapy. Students will be expected to understand the principles and interpretation of these techniques, which are essential for the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of patients with immune-mediated diseases. In addition, students will be introduced to key immunomodulatory therapies such as monoclonal antibodies, recombinant cytokines, therapeutic vaccines, and cell therapy, all of which are transforming clinical practice in fields such as oncology, rheumatology, and translational medicine.

Therefore, this course provides an integrated view of immunology as both a basic and applied science, essential for clinical practice and for making medical decisions grounded in a solid understanding of immunological mechanisms in both health and disease. The course will also promote critical thinking, the ability to correlate clinical signs with immunological alterations, and the interpretation of laboratory tests—key skills in contemporary medical practice.

 

 

Course competencies (verified by ANECA in official undergraduate and Master’s degrees) for academic year 2025-26

UA Basic Transversal Competences

  • CT1 : To read and understand texts in English.
  • CT2 : Show computer and information system skills and abilities.
  • CT3 : Show oral and written communication skills.

 

General Competences

  • CG10 : Understand and identify the causative agents and risk factors that induce the states of health and the development of the disease.
  • CG13 : Take and record a clinical history containing all relevant information.
  • CG15 : Ability to develop an initial diagnostic judgment and establish a reasoned diagnostic strategy.
  • CG17 : Determine the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, applying the principles based on the best possible information and in safe clinical conditions.
  • CG31 : Know, critically assess and know how to use clinical and biomedical information sources to obtain, organize, interpret and communicate scientific and health information.
  • CG32 : Know how to use information and communication technologies in clinical, therapeutic, preventive and research activities.
  • CG7 : Understand and discern the normal structure and function of the human body, at the molecular, cellular, tissue, organic and systems level, in the different stages of life and in both sexes.
  • CG9 : Understand and recognize the effects, mechanisms and manifestations of the disease on the structure and function of the human body.

 

Specific competences:>>Module IV: Diagnostic and therapeutic procedures

  • CE4.02 : Know the indications for biochemical, hematological, immunological, microbiological, anatomopathological and imaging tests.
  • CE4.04 : Know the mechanisms of inflammation.
  • CE4.20 : Learn about transfusions and transplants.
  • CE4.23 : Know how to obtain and process a biological sample for study through the different diagnostic procedures.
  • CE4.24 : Know how to interpret the results of diagnostic laboratory tests.

 

 

 

Learning outcomes (Training objectives)

-Know and understand basic and fundamental aspects of immunology, both in conditions of health and disease.

-To learn to become familiar with and properly handle the specific terminology of the discipline, which, as a general rule, is usually alien to them.

-Know and understand the relationship between immunology and other biomedical disciplines.

-Know and understand the multiple applications that can be derived from it in the biotechnological and biomedical fields.

- Know and understand the basis of the main clinical diagnostic techniques used in an Immunology Department, and be able to request and interpret them correctly when appropriate.

 

 

Specific objectives stated by the academic staff for academic year 2025-26

General Objectives
• To provide students with the necessary knowledge about the various components of the immune system (IS).
• To develop the ability to interrelate acquired concepts, promoting an integrated understanding of immunology that enables students to comprehend the multiple interactions among different compartments of the IS during a normal immune response.
• To highlight the experimental nature of immunology and foster the development of laboratory research skills.
• To provide students with the knowledge required to understand the role of the IS in various diseases, its importance in host-pathogen interactions, and its multiple applications in the diagnosis, therapy, and prevention of disease.
• To introduce students to immunological terminology and to the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) relevant to immunology.

Cognitive Objectives
• To understand the cellular and molecular bases of the innate and adaptive immune responses.
• To understand the mechanisms of antigen processing and presentation.
• To understand how repertoire selection occurs for T and B lymphocytes.
• To understand the kinetics and tissue localization of the immune response: antigen capture and presentation, cell activation and apoptosis mechanisms, memory cell generation, and the recirculation and homing of naïve, effector, and memory cells.
• To understand signal transduction mechanisms triggered by antigen receptors, cytokine receptors, and co-stimulatory or inhibitory molecules.
• To understand the immunological mechanisms involved in major immunodeficiencies, allergies, and autoimmune diseases.
• To understand the immunological mechanisms involved in transplantation, aging, pregnancy, and cancer.
• To understand the relevance of pharmacogenetics as applied to immunotherapy.
• To understand the immunological basis of trained immunity.
• To become familiar with the main diagnostic immunological techniques.

Skills-Based Objectives
• To be able to isolate immune system cells using various techniques, adjust cell concentrations, and assess cell viability.
• To be able to apply basic techniques for purifying specific cell populations.
• To be able to perform key immunological techniques for detecting antigens and/or antibodies.
• To be able to handle the main techniques and reagents used in cell culture.
• To be able to apply techniques for detecting lymphocyte proliferation, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
• To gain initial experience in handling a flow cytometer.

Competencies
• To connect immunology with other disciplines within the biomedical and experimental sciences, and to understand its multiple applications in detail.
• To relate the therapeutic effects of commonly used immunotherapy drugs with their mechanisms of action.
• To select the most appropriate immunological technique based on the suspected diagnosis.

 

 

General

Code: 27224
Lecturer responsible:
Sempere Ortells, José Miguel
Credits ECTS: 6,00
Theoretical credits: 1,20
Practical credits: 1,20
Distance-base hours: 3,60

Departments involved

  • Dept: BIOTECHNOLOGY
    Area: IMMUNOLOGY
    Theoretical credits: 1,2
    Practical credits: 1,2
    This Dept. is responsible for the course.
    This Dept. is responsible for the final mark record.

Study programmes where this course is taught