Education & Training

SIVS Education & Training

Educating trainees - (graduate and medical students and post-doctoral fellows) to be future scientists or physician-scientists is a cornerstone of the SIVS's mission. To address the need for increased knowledge in the field of vaccinology, we have developed five graduate-level courses and have facilitated the publication of vaccine-related texts for trainees, scientists and the public.

Vaccine Development Pathway: From Discovery to Licensure (BBSC 6219) (course directors: Gregg Milligan, PhD and Nigel Bourne, PhD) was first offered in 2010 and is designed as an introductory course to provide the students with an overview of vaccine development and utilization, and includes aspects of vaccines for infectious diseases and chronic non-infectious diseases (e.g. cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and addiction). This is an eight-week introductory course taught in lecture format with a small number of expert lecturers and is offered as a 2-credit elective in the Basic Biomedical Science Curriculum to graduate students.
Introduction to Vaccinology: Vaccines for the 21st Century (PATH 6161) (course directors: Gregg Milligan, PhD and Nigel Bourne, PhD) was established in 2003 and is taught under the auspices of the Experimental Pathology Graduate Program. It is designed to provide the basic scientist with an understanding of current vaccine development against established and emerging diseases for which no vaccines currently exist.

Vaccine Development & Beyond (course directors: Alan Barrett, PhD and Richard Rupp, MD) is a medical school course inaugurated in 2014 to provide students with an understanding of how vaccines are designed, tested in clinical trials, utilized in immunization regimens, and safety-assured after licensure. The course integrates basic science concepts of immune protection and microbial pathogenesis into vaccine design. From a clinical perspective, students explore and critique scientific literature documenting vaccine safety and efficacy as well as the practical and regulated aspects of vaccine testing in clinical trials.
The SIVS sponsors UTMB-based internships in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO). The interns have the opportunity to take Internship in Vaccinology (MICR 6143) that involves preparation of a report by the student on a specific infectious diseases and vaccines topic, intended for use as a briefing document by a WHO expert committee. The students work as part of a small group (2-3 students) under the supervision of SIVS members. The internship is conducted over a 3-month period, concurrent with the trainee's regular educational and research activities. The course is offered as a 2-credit elective in the Microbiology & Immunology Graduate Program to graduate students.
The SIVS also sponsors international internships in conjunction with the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI) in Langen, Germany, and the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), Hertfordshire, UK. International Internship in Vaccinology (MICR 6070) is offered to those students who participate in the traveling internship program. Students can undertake internships at WHO, PEI, or NIBSC for a period of 3 months. The course is offered as an elective in the Microbiology & Immunology Graduate Program and offered to medical students in years 3 or 4 of the medical school curriculum where they can take the international internship as a medical school elective credit.

As part of the SIVS commitment to advancing vaccinology education and information, UTMB has joined with Nature Partner Journals to produce a scientific vaccine journal. Online-only and open access, npj Vaccines is dedicated to highlighting the most important scientific advances in vaccine research and development.