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In most undergraduate programs, immunology is relegated to a few weeks of microbiology or human anatomy courses, or rarely offered as a dedicated topics course. As such, we feel it is essential to consider new approaches to introduce undergraduate students to immunological concepts. Recent work by the ImmunoReach network uncovered gaps in connecting concepts of metabolism and evolution in undergraduate immunology education. With these ideas in mind, we developed a comparative immunology lesson within an upper-division Animal Physiology course, in which students explore how differences in body size change both the metabolic rates and immune cell concentrations. Students who completed this activity improved their scores on scaling questions included in a class exam by more than 29% over students who only received a lecture on the course material. Pre- and post-quizzes demonstrate that the activity increased scores on questions about scaling (>17%) and immune concepts (>100%). By requiring students to apply concepts of scaling, a fundamental concept in biology and physiology, to a system not typically considered in animal physiology courses, this activity enhanced students' understanding of that topic, as well as introducing them to immune cell types. It also introduced pointillist comparative methods, just now being integrated into immune studies, thereby introducing students to leading-edge research in immunology and a new way of thinking about the immune system. We believe this approach can not only fill gaps within undergraduate immunology courses but also incorporate immunology into curricula where immunology is not a viable stand-alone course. 

Immune literacy garnered significant attention in recent years due to the threat posed by emerging infectious diseases. The pace of immunological discoveries and their relevance to society are substantial yet coordinated educational efforts have been rare. This motivated us to create a task force of educators to reflect on pedagogical approaches to teaching immunology and to draft, develop, and evaluate key competencies for undergraduate immunology education. The research questions addressed include: 1) Which competencies are considered important by educators? 2) Are the illustrative skills clear, accurate and well aligned with the core competencies listed in theVision and Changereport?; 3) What are the concerns of immunology educators about competencies and skills? We collected data on the draft competencies using surveys, focus groups, and interviews. The iterative revision phase followed the community review phase before finalizing the framework. Here, we report a hierarchical learning framework, with six core competencies, twenty illustrative skills, and companion immunology-specific example learning outcomes. Predominant themes from interviews and focus groups, which informed revisions of this framework are shared. With the growing need for immunology education across the sciences, the ImmunoSkills Guide and accompanying discussion can be used as a resource for educators, administrators and policymakers.