Molecular and Cellular Immunology

MBG 602 walks you through how the immune system actually works at the molecular level — how innate sensors trigger fast responses, how B and T cells generate near-infinite receptor diversity, and how all of this stays regulated enough to attack pathogens without destroying you. You'll spend the semester moving from lectures on receptor signaling and lymphocyte development into case studies and presentations where you read primary literature and defend your reasoning in front of the class. As a graduate-level course leaning on Janeway, it assumes you're comfortable with molecular biology fundamentals and prepares you for research in immunotherapy, vaccine design, or autoimmunity — areas where understanding mechanism matters more than memorizing pathways.