MLAB 1335: Immunology & Serology

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MLAB 1335: Immunology & Serology

Dates: October 20 through December 14, 2025
Length of Course: 8 Weeks
Total Contact Hours: 96

An introduction to the theory and application of basic immunology, including the immune response, principles of antigen-antibody reactions, and the principles of serological procedures.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, the student should be able to:

Discuss the principles involved in the immune response.
Describe the structure, function, and characteristics of immunoglobulins.
Describe the principles of and perform serological tests.
Evaluate laboratory test outcomes and relate serology tests to the disease or condition associated with each test; and evaluate the suitability of clinical specimens.

Syllabus

Please print the course syllabus and bring it to class.

Textbook (Recommended)

Stevens, C. & Miller, L. (2017). Clinical Immunology and Serology: A Laboratory Perspective, 4th edition. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.

Exams and Practical

Exam 1 In-house	Unit 1 exam covers Introduction and Historical Concepts Non-Specific Immunity Cytokines and Acute Phase Reactants Specific Immunity Antigens and Antibodies Hypersensitivity Reactions Complement Glassware Serial Dilutions	EVC Tuesday, 11/4/25 Room 9209 8:30am – 10:00am	RRC Tuesday, 11/4/25 Room 3121.00 3:30pm – 5:00pm
Exam 2 ONLINE	Unit 2 exam covers the following: Basic Immunologic Procedures Agglutination and Flocculation Competitive and Non-Competitive Binding Assays Molecular Diagnostics	Opens Thursday, 11/20/25, 7:00 am	Closes Friday, 11/21/25, 7:00 pm
Exam 3 ONLINE	Unit 3 exam covers the following: Introduction to Autoimmune Diseases SLE and ANA RA Organ-Specific Autoimmune Diseases Immunodeficiency Diseases including HIV	Opens Thursday, 12/4/25, 7:00 am	Closes Friday, 12/5/25, 7:00 pm
Lab Practical ONLINE	Covers all laboratory material including glassware, serial dilutions, pregnancy testing, RPR, HIV, CRP, RF, and cold agglutinins.	Monday, 12/8/25, 7:00 am NOTE: One day only!	Monday, 12/8/25, 7:00pm
Final Exam In-house	Covers all course material.	Tuesday, December 9, 2025, 9:00am Room 8301	Tuesday, December 9, 2025, 3:30 pm Room 3121

Schedule

All Admission Tickets and Prelabs are due on the posted date by 8:30 a.m.

10/20/2025

Lecture	Objectives – These are objectives for ALL of unit one Unit 1, Part 1: Nature of the Immune System – Introduction & Historical Concepts Notes
Textbook	Chapters 1 through 7 and 14 Enhancement Information Understanding Serological Pipettes (YouTube) Serial Dilution Method Protocol Step Wise Explanation (YouTube) Bacterial Serial Dilutions – Antibodies and antigens cannot be visualized, since they are soluble. But by looking at the decreasing number of organisms on the plate as the bacterial culture was diluted, one can get a sense of what is happening in the test tube as a serum sample is diluted. Watch The Process of Phagocytosis (YouTube) Watch Natural Killer Cells (YouTube) Watch Intro to Immunology (You Tube – general overview)
Laboratory	Quality Assurance in Serology Laboratory Glassware Objectives and Notes How to Pipette: Lab Survival Skills (YouTube) Serological Pipettes Dilutions From Clinical I – Cell Count Competency Assessment Hemacytometers Cell Count Report Form After competency, complete UA practice for competency repeats
Assignment	Lecture Admission Ticket #1 Due 10/21/2025 Prelab Assessment #1 and #2 Due 10/21/2025

10/21/2025

Lecture	Objectives – These are objectives for ALL of unit one Unit 1, Part 2: Non-Specific Immunity Notes Unit 1, Part 3: Acute Phase Reactants Notes
Textbook	Chapters 1 through 7 and 14 Enhancement Information Understanding Serological Pipettes (YouTube) Serial Dilution Method Protocol Step Wise Explanation (YouTube) Bacterial Serial Dilutions – Antibodies and antigens cannot be visualized, since they are soluble. But by looking at the decreasing number of organisms on the plate as the bacterial culture was diluted, one can get a sense of what is happening in the test tube as a serum sample is diluted. Review Introduction to Immunology Watch The Process of Phagocytosis (YouTube) Watch Natural Killer Cells (YouTube)
Laboratory	Lab: Serial Dilution to Detect Cold Reacting Antibodies Clinical I – Serial Dilution using Automatic Pipettes
Assignment	Lecture Admission Ticket #2 Due 10/28/2025 Choose a case study topic for your presentation. Email professor for approval, then post your topic on the discussion board. Due Sunday, 11/9/2025 @ 11:59 pm

10/27/2025

Lecture	Objectives – These are objectives for ALL of unit one Unit 1, Part 4: Specific (Acquired) Immunity Notes Unit 1, Part 5: Humoral Immunity Notes
Textbook	Chapters 1 through 7 and 14
Laboratory	Laboratory – Serial Dilution Practice using Serological Pipettes Clinical I -Repeat UA competency, if applicable
Assignment	Prelab Assessment Pregnancy Testing Due 10/28/2025 Post response to “To Be or Not To Be” to the Discussion Board Due Sunday, November 9, 2025, 11:59 p.m.

10/28/2025

Lecture	Objectives – These are objectives for ALL of unit one Unit 1, Part 6: Hypersensitivity Part A Notes Unit 1, Part 6: Hypersensitivity Part B Notes
Textbook	Chapters 1 through 7 and 14
Laboratory	Urine Pregnancy Test Laboratory Quick Vue hCG Combo Package Insert
Assignment	Admission Ticket #3 Part 7 – Complement Due 11/3/2025

11/3/2025

Lecture	Objectives – These are objectives for ALL of unit one Unit 1, Part 7: Complement Notes Review for exam one
Textbook	Chapters 1 through 7 and 14 Enhancement Information Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA) to Detect Antigens (YouTube) Explore Cells Alive This is no longer a webpage; however, you can download information if you would like to do so.
Laboratory	Complement Case Study – Read and answer the questions. Due 11/7/2025, 11:59 pm In Clinical I Serial dilution competency
Assignment	Prelab Assessment RPR Due 11/4/2025 Admission Ticket #4 – Due 11/10/2025, 8:30 am

11/4/2025

Lecture	Exam One – See schedule above Objectives – These are objectives for ALL of unit two Unit 2 Part 1 – Basic Immunoassay Principles
TextbookEnrichment	Chapters 10 and 11 Ouchterlony Method Ouchterlony Examples Ouchterlony Double Diffusion – Titration Great info from Amrita YouTube Video on Ouchterlony Method Overview of ELISA from ThermoFisher Scientific
Laboratory	RPR Laboratory exercise
Assignment	Prelab Admission Ticket ABO Typing Due 11/10/2025 Admission Ticket #4 – Due 11/10/2025, 8:30 am Reminder: Case study presentation outlines are to be uploaded on Monday, December 1, 2025, by 2359. Presentations will be completed by each student in class on Monday, December 1, 2025.

11/10/2025

Lecture	Objectives – These are objectives for ALL of unit two Unit 2 Part 2 – Agglutination and Flocculation Unit 2 Part 3 – Labeled Immunoassays
TextbookEnrichment	Chapters 10 and 11
Laboratory	ABO Blood Typing Laboratory Exercise
Assignment	Lecture Admission Ticket #5 Due 11/18/2025 Prelab Assessment – Molecular Techniques Due 11/17/2025. Use the lecture material to answer the questions. Prelab Assessment – Infectious Mono Due 11/17/2025

11/11/2025

Veteran’s Day – Thank you to all veterans for your service.

ACC is closed for this holiday.

11/17/2025

Lecture	Unit Three Objectives Section A Unit 3 Part 1 – Introduction To Autoimmune Diseases Unit 3 Part 2 – SLE and ANA Unit 3 Part 3 – Rheumatoid Arthritis
Textbook	Chapters 19, 21, 23, and 24
Laboratory	Additional lecture material for lecture and laboratory: Introduction to Molecular Diagnostics Mononucleosis Testing Laboratory Exercise Review for exam 2
Assignment	Admission Ticket #5 Due 11/18/2025 (reminder/posted last week)

11/18/2025

Leture	Unit Three Objectives – Section B Unit 3 – Part 4 – Organ-Specific Autoimmune Diseases Unit 3 – Part 5 – Immunodeficiency Diseases including HIV
Textbook	Chapters 19, 21, 23, and 24
Laboratory	HIV Laboratory Exercise HIV Laboratory Report Form
Assignment	Prelab CRP Due 11/24/2025 Prelab Rheumatoid Factor Due 11/24/2025

11/24/2025

Lecture	Unit Three Objectives – Section B No onsite class today
Textbook	N/A
Laboratory	Laboratory Exercises are due on Monday, December 1, 2025, @ 11:59 p.m. All of the information required for these exercises are listed here. Please upload into Blackboard upon completion of the exercise and the study questions. C-Reactive Protein Laboratory Exercise and Study Questions C-Reactive Protein Patient and Control Results C-Reactive Protein Package Insert Rheumatoid Factor Laboratory Exercise and Study Questions Rheumatoid Factor Patient and Control Results Rheumatoid Factor Package Insert
Assignment	Admission Ticket # 6 Due 12/1/2025 Admission Ticket # 7 Due 12/12025 Admission Ticket #8 Due 12/1/2025 Prelab Cold Agglutinin Due12/1/2025

11/25/2025

Lecture	Happy Thanksgiving!
Textbook	N/A
Laboratory	N/A
Assignment	N/A

12/1/2025

Lecture	Unit 4 Objectives -Syphilis, Lyme disease, and Hepatitis Unit 4 Serological Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases CDC – Interpretation of HBV results in chart form Case study outline to be uploaded today to Blackboard Case Study Presentations TODAY Review for Final Exam
Textbook	Chapters 12, 19, 20, 21, 23, and 24
Laboratory	N/A
Assignment	Cold Agglutinin Case Study and Study Questions Due Friday, December 5, 2025 @ 11:59pm

12/2/2025

Lecture	N/A
Textbook	N/A
Laboratory	N/A
Assignment	N/A

The Week of 12/8/2025

Laboratory Practical	Monday, December 8, 2025 (see exam schedule) This exam covers ALL laboratory activities
Final Exam	Tuesday, December 9, 2025 (see exam schedule)

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