This article is part of the AAI Teaching Tools series. More articles can be found in the Teaching Tools section. Archived articles can be found on the AAI website.
by Justin Andrews, Nicholas Pullen, PhD, and Aimee Pugh-Bernard, PhD
With the fast pace of translationally relevant immunology discoveries and the expanding use of the immune system as a therapeutic target across medical practice, equipping future physicians with a baseline of immunologically related knowledge has become an increasingly important goal. This need is further amplified by growing challenges within the U.S. healthcare system related to coherent communication about immune system function, diagnosis, and treatments (e.g., immunization).
As the preeminent professional society for immunologists in America, AAI previously sponsored an effort to provide a blueprint curriculum for undergraduate (bachelor’s-level) students, which was published in 2021 (Porter, et al.). Feedback during that project as well as among colleagues at the annual meeting reinforced the idea that AAI should proactively develop similar content guidelines for medical schools. Therefore, in late 2023 the AAI formed an ad hoc Medical Immunology Curriculum Task Force to conduct a research study on immunology education at the undergraduate medical education (UME) level (MD and DO).
The three-years’ work culminated in a list of foundational topics, specific learning objectives, and associated conditions for students to develop competency in during their UME. Prior to the work of this task force there was no AAI-sponsored immunology content for UME. The task force conducted iterative community surveys and feedback sessions to fill this gap.
Current State of Teaching Practices
The study also assessed the current state of immunology teaching practices across the United States. Educators and curriculum designers were surveyed about the content that they teach, when they teach it, and the amount of time dedicated to teaching immunology. Out of 210 medical schools, both MD and DO accredited and pre-accredited as of May 2024, the initial survey had a response of 86 institutions with 71% of respondents being from MD schools and 29% from DO schools, thus indicating sample saturation as this reflects the demographic split of allopathic and osteopathic medical schools. This survey included a list of proposed foundational topics and sub-topics produced from task force research and deliberation.
While most institutions covered the core foundational topics, there were notable differences in the selection and depth of sub-topics covered. Institutions varied in how immunology content was structured within the curriculum, such as time devoted to teaching immunology and whether the content was presented in a stand-alone block or integrated throughout the UME curriculum.
Foundational Topics and Objectives
Based on the initial survey, the task force created a list of content learning objectives aligned to the foundational topics and sent the proposed learning objectives back to the initial survey respondents for feedback and revision. Additionally, multiple small group sessions were held nationally at IMMUNOLOGY2025™ (Honolulu, HI) for feedback on the learning objectives. Upon the completion of the feedback period, the task force finalized fifteen foundational medical immunology topics and associated learning objectives. These core topics ranged from the complement system to immunodeficiencies to tolerance and autoimmunity and sets basic immunology knowledge expectations for all future physicians during the UME experience. The content guide was also designed to be flexible and easily adapted to multiple medical school curricular practices and time pressures.
AAI-Endorsed Guide
To better equip medical educators in covering the topics, the task force also created lists of associated conditions/dysfunctions for each of the foundational topics for educators to include in their instruction. These were also designed to be flexible enough to adapt to each school’s unique curriculum and time constraints. Based on these foundational topics and associated learning objectives and disease states, medical immunology educators ranging from seasoned educators to new faculty can feel better equipped to meet the challenge of teaching these essential principles to medical students. With professional society-endorsed immunology content, these recommendations represent AAI’s evolving commitment to take ownership and engage more directly with immunology stakeholders across a broader scope.
Finally, with the publication of these recommendations, faculty and curriculum designers now have a concrete, evidence-based guide to effect change at their institutions, such as regular curriculum revisions, and other accreditation-specific needs. Please see the final publication in ImmunoHorizons (Andrews, et al. 2026), which includes more in-depth demography on the current state of medical immunology education as well as the detailed content recommendations.
Special thanks to the rest of the task force: Andrea Bottaro, Michelle Swanson-Mungerson, Scott B Thompson, Vijaya Knight, Jennifer T Grier, Yuan Zhao, Tim J Bauler, and Pooja Jain.
References
- Porter E, Amiel E, Bose N, Bottaro A, Carr WH, Swanson-Mungerson M, Varga SM, Jameson JM. American Association of Immunologists Recommendations for an Undergraduate Course in Immunology. ImmunoHorizons. 2021 Jun 16;5(6):448-465. doi: 10.4049/immunohorizons.2100030. PMID: 34398803.
- Andrews J, Bauler TJ, Bottaro A, Grier JT, Jain P, Knight V, Swanson-Mungerson M, Thompson SB, Zhao Y, Pullen NA, Pugh-Bernard A. Status of Immunology Education and Establishment of AAI-Recommended Immunology Content Guidelines for Undergraduate Medical Education in the U.S.A. ImmunoHorizons. DOI: 10.1093/immhor/vlag041
