Advances in the generation and selection of antibodies from combinatorial libraries allow for the rapid production of antibodies from immune and non-immune sources. This intensive laboratory/lecture course will focus on the construction of combinatorial antibody libraries expressed on the surface of filamentous phage and the subsequent selection of desired antibodies from the library. Students will learn the theoretical and practical aspects of constructing combinatorial libraries from immune and non-immune sources as well as the construction of synthetic antibody libraries. Antigen-specific recombinant monoclonal antibodies will be selected from the library. Production, purification and characterization of antibody fragments expressed in E. coli will also be covered.
The lecture series, presented by course faculty and a number of invited speakers, will emphasize theory and practice of antibody display technologies, expression of antibodies in E. coli and mammalian cells, antibody structure and function, bacterial display of antibodies and other ligand-binding domains, the immunobiology of the antibody response, and the use of monoclonal antibodies for therapy including the design of chimeric antigen receptor T cells. We will also discuss principles and protocols for generation and analysis of immune repertoires determined by Next Generation Sequencing.
Scott Boyd, Stanford University
Brandon Dekosky, University of Kansas
Ratmir Derda, University of Alberta, Canada
Birgit Dreier, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Ivo Lorenz, Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute
Aimee Payne, University of Pennsylvania
Christoph Rader, The Scripps Research Institute
Don Siegel, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center
Gregg Silverman, New York University School of Medicine
Stefan Stahl, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
This course is supported with funds provided by: National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
Support & Stipends
Stipends are available to offset tuition costs as follows:
US applicants (National Institute of General Medical Sciences)
Interdisciplinary Fellowships (transitioning from outside biology) & Scholarships (transitioning from other biological disciplines) (Helmsley Charitable Trust)
International applicants (Howard Hughes Medical Institute)
Please indicate your eligibility for funding in your stipend request submitted when you apply to the course. Stipend requests do not affect selection decisions made by the instructors.
Cost (including board and lodging): $3,810
This button links to a short form which confirms your interest in the course. No fees are due until you have completed the full application process and are accepted into the course.
Students accepted into the course should plan to arrive by early evening on October 16 and plan to depart after lunch on October 30.