Immunology | Oxford University Press

Immunology offers the most contemporary perspective on the science available, providing a clear, easy-to-follow introduction to the discipline suitable for undergraduate students. In a course where students often get lost in vast amounts of detail and the sheer complexity of the immune response, Immunology helps students see “the big picture” with an approachable narrative that presents the exquisite details of immunology while emphasizing the connections between key themes that students so often lose sight of when learning the material.

Immunology features an exceptional illustration program and includes simple, clear explanations, abundant examples, and features that unravel the mysteries of immunology through accounts of classical discoveries and recent, cutting-edge research. Since many students in the course are preparing to enter careers in research, medicine, and other health professions, an appropriate amount of applied knowledge and clinical content is included in the narrative, features, and engaging case studies. Students will easily be able to make connections, moving beyond memorizing just what we know to truly understanding how we know what we know—and why.

Stephen J. Juris is Associate Professor at Central Michigan University. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan and completed a postdoctorate at Harvard Medical School. Stephen’s research interests focus on the role of bacterial toxins in bacterial pathogenesis. His dissertation work was conducted on Yersinia pestis (causative agent of the bubonic plague) and its role in shutting down the immune response. His postdoctoral work examined the biochemical and biophysical action of anthrax toxin, including transport across endosomal membranes and action within cells. His current research at CMU focuses on a toxin made by Vibrio cholerae (causative agent of cholera) and the role the toxin plays in disruption of the cytoskeleton in intestinal epithelial cells. During his tenure at CMU, he has taught courses in Immunology, Bacterial Pathogenesis, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, and others. When he is not in the lecture hall or in the lab, he enjoys running, golf, and spending time with his family and friends.

Immunology presents the molecular details at the heart of the discipline within a pedagogical structure that ensures students don’t lose sight of the big picture. Key questions—like How does the immune response combat the pathogens that cause disease?—frame the contents of each chapter. Guideposts—including learning objectives, review questions, and summaries—lead readers through the author’s clear, approachable narrative and keep them oriented to each chapter’s key questions.

Learning Objectives: Learning Objectives guide student learning of each chapter’s key questions. Crafted using action verbs taken from Bloom's taxonomy and appropriate for upper-level undergraduates, Learning Objectives stress the application of knowledge and are tied to Checkpoint Questions at the end of each section and Review Questions at the end of each chapter. Students accessing the book online using Oxford Insight can test their mastery of the Learning Objectives with over 2,800 additional self-assessment questions that feed into the course gradebook, giving instructors valuable insight into which sections warrant greater focus in lecture.

Chapter Summaries: Each chapter concludes with a summary of essential points covered in the exploration of each key question. Students can use these essential points as an outline to guide their review of the material when preparing for quizzes and exams.

Review Questions: Students undoubtedly learn best through application of their knowledge. They can practice applying the knowledge they gain from the textbook by solving the end-of-chapter Review Questions, which not only test their ability to recall details from the chapter but also challenge them to think critically about and analyze situations based on material drawn from the chapter.

Case Studies: Advanced undergraduate immunology courses tend to draw students who aspire to careers in health-related professions. Since these students are interested in clinical connections to their course content, this textbook uses Case Studies featuring real-life clinical examples to contextualize the material of each chapter. Case Studies introduced at the start of each chapter are revisited at the end of the chapter with questions for students to investigate on their own and in groups within an active-learning environment.

Emerging Science: Examples of modern research in immunology give students both a connection to the latest technology and a means to practice understanding of primary literature. Each instance of this feature contains a reference to a primary literature article together with review citations and references to related research articles. Think About . . . questions provide opportunities for classroom discussion, active learning exercises, journal clubs, and practice for individual student conceptual understanding.

Making Connections: A signature feature of the book, Making Connections relates material students are reading about in one chapter to concepts and mechanisms they have learned about in previous chapters. Students will gain a “big picture” understanding of immunology by visualizing how, for example, genetic recombination events that produce T-cell and B-cell receptors (Chapter 4) relate to T-cell and B-cell development (Chapters 5 & 8). One Making Connection figure in each chapter is expanded to include videos, interactive figures, vocabulary quizzing, and assessments so students can work through problems on their own and master these topics.

A contemporary approach that emphasizes the “big picture” of immunology

About the Book

Free Power-Point Slides!

Free Sample Case Study!