Introduction to Week 1

Welcome to Week 1 of Hot Topics in Medicine! In this course, Dr. Cohen will cover his area of expertise which is Immunology, or the study of the immune system. Have you ever wondered how your body heals a cut on the skin? Or, how your body recovers from a cold? Let’s find out! The immune system recognizes, inactivates, destroys, removes, and heals damage or invasion by disease-causing microbes. There are two arms of the immune system, innate immunity and adaptive immunity. Dr. Cohen will explain these further, but basically innate is what you are born with and adaptive is what you acquire following disease exposure. There are many bodily responses that work together in an immune response.

For example, inflammation is a topic that has come up in every Mini Medical School Module thus far. Inflammation has an important role in the immune response. B cells make antibodies which are another key factor in an immune response. The T cell is the truly fascinating mastermind of the immune response as its job is to coordinate the immune response. Thanks for joining us as we explore immunology!