SPORT AND EXERCISE IMMUNOLOGY - 2022/3

Module Overview

In this module, you will study the immune responses that occur during acute and chronic exercise training in healthy young adults, highly active and elite sportspeople, and adults with clinically relevant diseases. Through a series of lectures, tutorials and practical sessions, you will study how an effective, lack of, or exaggerated immune response is central to exercise adaptation and the health benefits of being physically active. On completion of this module, you will understand the function of the immune system concerning sport, exercise and physical activity, how to measure the immune system and how it influences the health of both athletes and people with various diseases.

Module provider

School of Biosciences

Module Leader

BARTLETT David (Biosciences)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

BMS2052 - Pathology: A Metabolic Perspective BMS2063 - Exercise Physiology & Biochemistry

Module content

Indicative content includes:

· Health & Immunity : How can we boost health with exercise & physical activity

· The Anatomy of the Human Immune System

· Functions of the Adaptive Immune System

· Functions of the Innate Immune System

· Effects of acute and chronic exercise on innate immunity

· Effects of acute and chronic exercise on adaptive immunity

· Immune responses to intensified periods of training

· Exercise and the prevention of chronic diseases

· Exercise, infection risk, immune function, and inflammation in special populations

· How to assess immune function during exercise

· Introduction to using flow cytometry and ELISA?

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Coursework - 2500-word essay on the immune response of a specific population of people.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate that the students have a detailed knowledge of the principles of exercise immunology, how these relate to different populations of people, different modes of exercise, and how to assess the immune system. Thus, the summative assessment of this module consists of: · An examination in which the students write 1 extended essay from a choice. · A written case study (2500 words) based on a case study on the student¿s own choosing. · A presentation of a relevant journal article, detailing the strengths and weaknesses of the study. Formative assessment and feedback: · Weekly MCQ (10 questions) during tutorials from Week 2 onwards that cover the previous week¿s content and to ensure weekly learning goals are being achieved. · Weekly tutorials with group discussions, journal critiques, presentations and verbal feedback on the lecture and practical content · Practical sessions that will assess immune components in the Institute for Health biomedical teaching laboratories in response to exercise. Verbal feedback from academics or demonstrators will be provided during practicals · Formative feedback on examination style essay structure and content includes a class discussion of past examination questions during revision week · Feedback to specific queries via the discussion boards on SurreyLearn with responses being made available to all via SurreyLearn or during tutorials as appropriate generic class feedback to practical reports

Module aims

• Provide students with more in-depth knowledge of the applicability and principles of immunology in relation to sport, exercise, and health.
• Expand their knowledge on the underlying pathological causes of health conditions
• Evaluate the specific exercise-induced changes to the immune system
• Expand their knowledge on how to measure immune function in the laboratory

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategies are designed to: Students will have lectures and tutorials to provide them with further understanding of the concepts underlying the immunological effects of exercise in a variety of populations. This knowledge will be integrated into practical classes that are designed to further their understanding of the topic and to provide them with the practical and professional skills required to work in an exercise immunology setting. Throughout the module, SurreyLearn will extensively be used to inform students and disseminate specific contents such as lecture hand-outs, useful links and additional literature. SurreyLearn will also be used to communicate between academics and students to effectively answer questions that are of relevance to all students.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: BMS3103

Other information

/A

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2022/3 academic year.