Result: 50 Pass. This laboratory subject was well coordinated with both dry & wet laboratory activities. Flow cytometry was the dominant theme. However opportunities are provided to explore other important techniques (ICS, IHC, ELISA, Western blotting for DC profile & PCR/RT PCR for assessment & quantification of immunobias of a TCR VB region). The subject is divided into three units. Unit 1 is flow cytometry. Unit 2 is TCR structural analysis of immunobias using PCR. Unit 3 is dendritic cell analysis using three key laboratory methods. Each unit timeframe is circa 3-4 weeks duration. Unit 3 involves a hypothetical research proposal as part of a poster presentation which students deliver in the final week of the subject. This was fun. The demonstrators are fantastic & lovely. Maintenance of a legible & neat but sometimes messy laboratory notebook is a hurdle for the subject to sit the final exam. While I have given the subject full marks for the laboratory setting, group work, peer collaboration & lovely demonstrators, there are some unexpected traps. First, be prepared to tear your hair out over Flow Jo software. It's difficult but okay after a few times. Two, an actual written report submission on a Unit 2 lab. Please be accurate. I failed mine just (48%). Third & final point. The exam. 75 marks. All short answers. Unfortunately it went MALAKA for me. Very badly. Somehow, I managed to secure 50% for this subject. I must have got 20/75. I'll still take it. Overall despite those traps, the subject was enjoyable & had lots of fun..insightful too.

A well-coordinated subject that perfectly complements its semester 1 prerequisite subject, Principles of Immunology (MIIM30002). Yeah, having to do a lab notebook entry once a week was bloody exhausting at times but definitely worth it. It forces you to continuously revise the content and so sets you up really well for the exam and other assessments. The content is super interesting and you really get the chance to learn how to analyse the data in a way that is relevant to the field, learning to use software like FlowJo and all that jazz. It's a shame that because of COVID restrictions, this subject was taught online again, but I'm sure it'll be even more enjoyable next year when taught in person. The cohort this semester did really well on all the non-exam assessments (which make up 50% of final grade) so I think the exam was made super difficult to try and compensate for this/separate student scores better (trust me, I cried a bit after the exam). But all in all, doing well in this subject is totally achievable so long as you put in the hard work and effort to keep up with it on a weekly basis.

Honestly, a lot or work. Seriously you need to keep up with the weekly practicals to do well in the subject. However, i found it to be really great because you get a chance to put the content into practice and truly understand the mechanisms in a deeper way. It is also a great way to learn what life like in the lab would be and how to do write ups. Only downside is although the demonstrators are really great they seem to disagree on things and it makes the marking inconsistent between them. There needs to be better communication and they all need to be on the same page. Frequently they seem to waste time during practicals disagreeing with each other.