Advanced Course in Basic & Clinical Immunology

Invited speakers lecture on the major topics in cellular and molecular immunology, including innate immunity, B cells, T cells, and cytokines. Special sessions cover new advances in interventional clinical immunology and the molecular and genetic basis of immune-mediated diseases. There will be ample opportunity for students to interact with the faculty outside the lecture room.

Basic Immunology in Medicine: Update 2011

This course was launched in 2002 because of the realization that the rapid pace of research is leading to fundamental advances in the understanding of immune responses and their abnormalities. Staying abreast of these advances is essential for practitioners of medicine and for researchers in academia and industry. As new immunotherapeutic strategies are being developed and adopted, it is becoming important to understand the rationale behind these therapies, and this also requires an appreciation of the fundamentals of immunology. This brief course is designed to provide a sophisticated review of selected basic principles, and update on new advances, especially those that are most relevant to human disease.

Course materials include a syllabus book and electronic access to slides that will assist attendees in following the lectures and participating in the discussions. In addition, the attendees may be able to use these slides as a basis for their own teaching and lecturing needs. The next course will be held:

The next course will be held:

Wednesday, June 22 at FOCIS 2011
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Washington, D.C.

Interventional Immunology

The Interventional Immunology course provides education on the many new therapies that are currently available or in development which are based on targets unfamiliar to many practicing physicians. There is potentially great value for, but lack of, cross-disciplinary reviews of these types of therapies.

This course seeks to review the scientific basis for choice of immunologically related therapeutic targets in various diseases, including organ specific and systemic autoimmunity, allergy, transplant rejection, cancer, and HIV. The goal is to help understand the rationale and mechanism underlying the major pharmacologic approaches for interventional immunology in current practice and review the track record of the different therapeutic approaches in different specialties.

The next course will be held:

Thursday, June 23 at FOCIS 2011
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Washington, D.C.

FOCIS Centers of Excellence Cell Series - Macrophages: Clinical Immunology & Biology

A FOCIS Program offered to the FOCIS Centers of Excellence (FCE) to disseminate background and education linking macrophages and autoimmunity and reporting current data relating to macrophages.

Macrophage Program Objectives:

• Meeting the educational needs of the FCE by assisting them in creating optimal formats to learn, develop and implement educational courses that meet the translational needs of clinicians and scientists working in the areas of immune-mediated disease.
• Strengthening relationships within the FCE by providing educational programs that are appropriate for clinician scientists, immunology fellows and medical students.
• Developing courses that are in compliance with new ACCME guidelines and appropriate agencies and to provide continuing medical education formats that are accessible to FCEs and local clinicians and scientists.

The intent of this initiative is to establish relevance to a broad based audience. As critical background, the biology of the macrophage in inflammation and the resolution of inflammation will be discussed. However, to engage clinicians and researchers alike, the overall mission of the FCEs is to relate this information back to clinical medicine. Therefore, the highlight of this program will be viewing clinical immunology solely from the perspective of the macrophage. Ther role of the macrophage in prevalent human chronic inflammatory diseaes will emphasize current and future immunotherapeutic interventions geared towards inhibiting macrophage activation. The program includes an 11 module slide set and monograph.

Medical Undergraduate Immunology Course

FOCIS is proud to sponsor the Medical Undergraduate Immunology Course (MUIC).

MUIC was created by Paul J. Utz, MD, at the Stanford University FOCIS Center of Excellence (FCE). This program introduces students to clinical immunology, and entices them to continue their studies in medical research.

The program can be implemented in a variety of settings and formats and consists of a 300-page syllabus, web cast of the Stanford lectures, and materials to assist in implementation. This versatile program enables students at all levels of education to take part in research, attend introductory lectures by selected faculty, and gain exposure to clinical medicine. For more information please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  at Stanford University.

Trainee Satellite Symposium (TSS)

TSS is held the day before the FOCIS Annual Meeting. This day-long forum provides the opportunity for two trainees from each of the 62 FOCIS Center of Excellence (FCE) to present their most novel and innovative research. All trainees present posters and ten are selected to give oral presentations. TSS is an exclusive function of the FOCIS Centers of Excellence (FCE). To learn how you can participate please contact your FCE Director. To see a list of FCEs or to learn how your institution can become a FCE please visit the FCE page.

• Get the Facts about TSS
• To view photos click here: Photo Gallery

FOCIS Annual Meeting

The FOCIS Annual Meeting is the apex of the year's activities. Clinical immunologists come from all over the world to hear the novel research that is being presented in this forum.

View FOCIS 2010 Photo Gallery