Avian Immunology

Bernd Kaspers graduated as a veterinarian in 1986 at the University of Munich and completed his doctoral thesis (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) in 1989. He subsequently worked as a post-doc at the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Livestock and Poultry Sciences Institute, Beltsville, MD, USA and returned to the University of Munich in 1992 where he became a full Professor for Animal Physiology in 1997.Since his dissertation he has focused on avian immuno-physiology investigating B-lymphocyte biology, cytokines and the mucosal immune system in chickens. This work included studies on a range of infection models such as avian coccidiosis, avian influenza, Marek’s Disease and Salmonella infections. His research is documented in more than 85 publications in peer-reviewed journals, several reviews and book chapters.His work is funded by grants from the German Research Foundation, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the European Union and through several co-operations with the poultry and vaccine industry.Bernd Kaspers is member of the German Society for Immunology and as such has been speaker of the Veterinary Immunology Study Group of the society for the last 6 years. In 2004 he hosted together with Thomas Goebel the 8th Avian Immunology Research Group Meeting in Munich with more than 120 participants. Professor Emeritus K.A. (Ton) Schat received his veterinary degree from the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands in 1970 and his PhD degree in Virology from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY in 1978. He joined the faculty at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University in 1978, where he remained until his retirement in 2011. His research focused on the immunology and pathogenesis of viral diseases of poultry, especially Marek’s disease and chicken infectious anemia. He has published over 165 papers in peer-reviewed journals and more than 30 book chapters. His contributions to avian disease research were recognized with the Upjohn Achievement Award of the AAAP in1986, the Dr. Bart Rispens Research Award of the WVPA in 1987, the Pfizer Award for Excellence in Poultry Research of the AVMA in 1999, and the Merck Award for Achievement in Poultry Science of the PSA in 2005. In 2010 he was recognized by his peers with a special award for outstanding research in the field of Marek’s disease. He is a founding member of the Hall of Honour of the World Veterinary Poultry Association. Associate Professor of Immunology. Professor Göbel studied Immunology at the Basil University. Was a Research scientist at the LMU Munich at the Institute of Animal Physiology and is currently Professor for Immunology and Dean of Student affairs at the Veterinary Faculty. Dr. Vervelde gained a BSc and MSc in Biology (Immunology Parasitology and Ethology) at the Wageningen University, the Netherlands, followed by a PhD on the immune responses in chicken to Eimeria tenella performed at the Central Veterinary Institute in Lelystad. She then went to the Institute for Animal Health in Compton to continue her work on immune responses to avian diseases, in particular infectious bursal disease virus. Currently she leads research projects investigating host-pathogen interactions within the mucosal immune system aiming to define the mechanisms whereby natural immunity is achieved and how protective immunity is induced by vaccination. The research focusses on antigen presenting cells and their interaction with other cells of the innate and adaptive immune system with the overall aim to modulate these cells to improve immune mediated resistance and to understand their contribution to pathogenesis.

1. The importance of the avian immune system and its unique features 2. Structure of the avian lymphoid system 3. Development of the avian hematopoietic and immune systems 4. B cells, the bursa of Fabricius, and the generation of antibody repertoires 5. Structure and evolution of avian immunoglobulins 6. Avian T cells: Antigen Recognition and Lineages 7. The avian major histocompatibility complex 8. Introduction to the avian innate immune system; properties, effects, and integration with other parts of the immune system 9. Avian cytokines and their receptors 10. Immunogenetics and the mapping of immunological functions 11. The mucosal immune system 12. Impact of the gut microbiota on the immune system 13. Innate defenses of the avian egg 14. Avian immunosuppressive diseases and immune evasion 15. Factors modulating the avian immune system 16. Autoimmune diseases of poultry 17. Tumors of the avian immune system 18. Practical aspects of poultry vaccination 19. Comparative immunology of agricultural birds 20. Evolutionary and ecological immunology 21. Advances in genetic engineering of the avian genome

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