HMX Short Courses - Immunology
Immune Tolerance
Learn about immune tolerance and how it can be harnessed to treat various conditions.
One of the fundamental properties of our immune system is its ability to respond to pathogens while sparing our own cells, tissues, and any molecules that do not pose danger to us. Defects in the mechanisms that impart immune tolerance to harmless antigens can result in autoimmunity, chronic inflammatory diseases, or allergies. Understanding these mechanisms is essential for anyone working to develop or apply new therapies that induce immune tolerance to treat these conditions in the clinic.
HMX Short Courses are specialized courses with targeted lessons on the latest medical science information and advancements to keep learners up to date. This course offers a unique way for professionals to learn from leading Harvard Medical School faculty about immune tolerance.
Topics covered include:
- Overview of the Importance of Immunological Tolerance
- Generation of Lymphocyte Diversity
- T Cell Development and Central Tolerance in the Thymus
- Regulatory T Cells
- Peripheral T Cell Tolerance
- B Cell Development and Tolerance
- Inducing Tolerance
- Broken and Breaking Tolerance
- Clinical Linkage: CTLA-4 Haploinsufficiency
- Current and Novel Approaches that Induce Immune Tolerance
Explore more about these advanced courses below and register before January 31, 2025 at 11:59pm US Eastern Time for the next Short Course period starting February 5, 2025.
Tuition for HMX Short Courses is $495 for an individual course or bundle multiple courses and save. Two-course bundles are $595 and three-course bundles are $795.
Course Instructors
Carlos Donado, PhD
Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Immunologist, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Immunology Curriculum Lead, HMX
Shiv Pillai, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine and Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard Medical School
Immunologist and Geneticist, Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital
Director, MMSc in Immunology Program, Harvard Medical School
Associate Program Head, Graduate Program in Immunology, Harvard Medical School
Andrew Lichtman, MD, PhD
Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School
Senior Pathologist, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
More Information
Frequently asked questions
What does it take to sign up? How much are the courses?
You simply need to fill out the registration form, choose your course(s), and pay by January 31, 2025:
- Individual course: $495
- Two-course bundle: $595
- Three-course bundle: $795
Can I apply for financial aid?
Partial tuition waivers are not available for HMX Short Courses.
What is the course schedule and time commitment?
You will be enrolled in your HMX Short Course(s) on February 5, 2025. Most people can expect to spend 3-4 hours total on an HMX short course. In order to be considered for a short course certificate of completion, you must complete your coursework within eight weeks, by April 2, 2025.
Is there a final exam?
There will be graded assessments throughout the course. However, these do not count toward your certificate status; please see below for certificate requirements.
Can I drop a course?
You may withdraw from the course and request a refund up until February 4, 2025. Once you are enrolled, you will not be able to drop or request a refund. No extensions will be offered.
How can participants get help?
For technical support, learners can contact the HMX team for assistance throughout the course session. There are no discussion forums in the HMX Short Courses.
What is the criteria to earn a certificate?
In order to earn a short course certificate of completion, you must watch all videos, complete all assessments, and work through all other course material within the active course period. Once you have met the criteria, your certificate will be sent to your email. Certificates of achievement are not offered for short courses.
Will I get a physical certificate?
No, we are only offering PDF versions of certificates for short courses. You will not have the option to request a physical copy from us, but you are welcome to have it printed at your local print shop.
Can I mention my certificate in my LinkedIn profile or on my resume?
Yes. Certificates that you earn are appropriate for inclusion on LinkedIn or on your resume.
If you are listing an HMX course on your resume, we suggest listing it under the education section, below any earned degrees. Courses should be listed as “HMX Short Course (Harvard Medical School online learning platform) – [course titles]”
On LinkedIn, include any courses in the Education section as below:
School: Harvard Medical School
Degree: Other; HMX Short Course – [course title(s)]
Field of Study: leave blank
Start/End Year: Year in which you completed the course(s)
Grade: leave blank
Activities and societies: leave blank
Description: HMX Short Courses are 3-4 hour online courses from Harvard Medical School. I earned a Short Course Certificate of Completion in [course title]
“I appreciate that [HMX] really challenged my understanding of new topics.”
Catherine Gerdt
Research Scientist, Cook Medical
To learn more about enrolling a team from your organization or a group of learners, please fill out the form below.