This specialisation in Virology and Vaccinology will provide an insight into the molecular and cellular components of vaccines and viruses.
This specialisation will look at how viruses cause infections and vaccines prevent them. It will provide a good grounding for further research work in immunology, virology and infectious diseases, or for a career in the pharmaceutical and bioscience industries.
The specialisation consists of four individual asynchronous courses – two focusing on vaccinology and two focusing on virology. These can be taken in any order, but there are corresponding themes within each course.
On successful completion of the specialisation, learners will be able to:
Explain the fundamentals of vaccinology in the context of what vaccines are and how vaccines protect us
Identify different vaccine types and differentiate between the different applications of vaccines
Explain the fundamental principles of virology whilst recognising the diversity of virus structure and differences in approach required to detect and track viruses amongst different populations
Assess the different approaches to the treatment of viruses, and contrast this to vaccine protection
Applied Learning Project
Throughout the four courses within this specialisation, you will have the opportunity to undertake a series of formative and summative assessments where you will apply what you have learned about how viruses cause infections and how vaccines prevent infections. These will explore historical perspectives of the development of both virology and vaccinology, as well as current issues in both fields, such as the emergence of the SARS-2-CoV (COVID-19) virus and the science behind the development of vaccines against this virus which have saved so many lives.
