This semester I took Introduction to Immunology concurrently with cancer biology. While these two classes didn’t have many similarities there was some overlap that I could appreciate. In cancer biology I learned how cancer cells were able to sustain proliferating signals while evading detection from the immune system. In Immunology we learned about the ways the immune system mounted responses to foreign pathogens and how effective it is at its job. I was able to find appreciation in how crafty and evasive the cancer cells are in evading immune cells and ways the immune system could be taken advantage of. Other things I learned is the difference between the classical, lectin and alternative pathways and the difference between apoptosis and necrosis. The most interesting topic covered this semester in my opinion was Wass the time it takes to mount a response from the innate and adaptive immune systems and how quickly the body can produce memory cells to be better prepared for a reinfection.
