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.

1. The importance of the avian immune system and its unique features 2. Structure of the avian lymphoid system 3. Early ontogeny of the avian immune system 4. B cells, bursa, development of antibody repertoire 5. T cell development and function 6. Antibodies 7. Innate immune responses 8. MHC and its role in avian immune responses 9. Antigen Presenting Cells 10. Cytokines and chemokines 11. Immunogenetics and mapping immunological functions 12. The mucosal immune system 13. Enteric immune system 14. Respiratory Immune system 15. Reproductive immune system 16. Immunodepressive diseases & immune evasion 17. Factors modulating the immune system 18. Autoimmune diseases of poultry 19. Tumours of the immune system 20. Practical aspects of vaccination 21. Comparative immunology of domesticated agricultural species 22. Ecological Immunology

App. A. Chicken strains useful for defining the genetics of immune traits App. B. Resources available for studying avian immunology