Liepkalns Lab

Vaccines and Immunotherapies Explained.As part of the Program for Research in Immunology and Microbiology Education (PRIME) group, the Liepkalns laboratory studies and develops tools to help faculty teach immunology more effectively. With exciting advances in immunotherapies (including novel vaccine designs), immunology has become a topic many want to learn more about. What should students learn by the time they graduate from college (scientific literacy) and how do students develop their understanding of these immunological concepts? We are interested in making students self-directed learners and developing tools for instructors. We are particularly interested in students that are underrepresented in the field of immunology and are working to make this field more inclusive to all learners.

Another project is publishing textbooks on immunology for undergraduate students with expert colleagues by integrating evidence-based approaches. The 1st edition of “Vaccines and Immunotherapies Explained” is now available!

research project

Undergraduate Immunology fundamental statements and skills

In collaboration with a team of immunology educators nationwide, referred to as ImmunoReach, we are developing undergraduate curriculum guidelines for teaching immunology. We are using the National Science Foundation’s report Vision and Change as a framework to align immunology undergraduate literacy with core biological concepts and skills.

research project

Conceptual Learning in Immunology & Microbiology (CLIMb)

We are developing a conceptual framework outlining how novice students develop expertise in immunology. This tool can reveal the roadmap students usually take when deepening their understanding of a core immunological concept and instructors can design their assessments and curriculum accordingly.

Publications

The ImmunoSkills Guide: Competencies for undergraduate immunology curricula.
Pandey S, Elliott SL, Liepkalns J, Taylor RT, Vanniasinkam T, Kleinschmit AJ, Justement LB, Lal A, Condry D, Bruns HA, Paustian T, Mixter PF, Sparks-Thissen RL, Sletten S, Wisenden BD.
PLoS One. 2024 Nov 11;19(11):e0313339. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0313339. eCollection 2024. PMID: 39527543

Impact of diabetes status on immunogenicity of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in older adults.
Spencer S, Chung JR, Belongia EA, Sundaram M, Meece J, Coleman LA, Zimmerman RK, Nowalk MP, Moehling Geffel K, Ross T, Carter CE, Shay D, Levine M, Liepkalns J, Kim JH, Sambhara S, Thompson MG, Flannery B.
Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2022 May;16(3):562-567. doi: 10.1111/irv.12933. Epub 2021 Dec 3. PMID: 34859584

Vaccines and Immunotherapies Explained.
Justine Liepkalns
Kendall Hunt Publishing. ISBN 9781792498725.

Impact of automated response systems on in-class cell phone use.
Moorleghen DM, Oli N, Crowe AJ, Liepkalns JS, Self CJ, Doherty JH.
Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2019 Sep;47(5):538-546. doi: 10.1002/bmb.21257. Epub 2019 May 30. PMID: 31145544

Making evolution stick: using sticky notes to teach the mechanisms of evolutionary change.
K. Grogan, T. Lee, and J. Liepkalns.
Evolution: Education and Outreach. 10:11. 2017
Thomas Henry Huxley Award.

more publications

People

Justine Liepkalns, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Tyler Sherman
Tyler Sherman, Ph.D.

Research Associate III

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Hana Gatlawi

Graduate Research Assistant

Ryan Alajoki
Ryan Alajoki

Research Assistant

Emma Bovaird
Emma Bovaird

Student Researcher

Lauren Wolff
Lauren Wolff

Lab Assistant

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