Neuroimmune Pharmacology as a Sub-discipline of Immunology in the Medical School Curriculum

This article provides a description of a proposed sub-module and attendant syllabus for inclusion of neuroimmune pharmacology as a sub-discipline of an immunology course that is offered to medical students during the first year of medical school. Neuroimmune pharmacology is an area of study that integrates fundamental concepts in pharmacology, immunology, neuroscience, and infectious disease. This convergent disciplinary area is of increasing importance to the foundational training of medical students, especially in view of the recognition that a variety of neuropathological processes such as demyelinating disease, drug abuse, and viral encephalitis has an immunological component. A lecture sub-module that addresses this convergent topic is proposed for inclusion as a sub-discipline of an immunology course offered as a component of a Scientific Foundations curriculum that takes place during the first 6 months of medical school. It is proposed to revisit the neuroimmune pharmacology topic area in a more clinical setting during the subsequent 14 months of study when medical students would be presented with an organ system-based curriculum. In this instructional model, basic science teaching faculty would interface with clinical faculty in presenting the topical block material in the context of different organ systems. Discussion of clinical cases related to neuroimmune pharmacology would be integrated into the organ system-based curriculum in order to highlight a translational relevance to medical practice.