Immune Literacy: a Call to Action for a System-Level Change.

Immune literacy-the ability to hear, learn, read, write, explain, and discuss immunological content with varied audiences-has become critically important in recent years. Yet, with its complex terminology and discipline-specific concepts, educating individuals about the immune system and its role in health and disease may seem daunting. Here, we reflect on how to demystify the discipline and increase its accessibility for a broader audience. To address this, a working group of immunology educators from diverse institutions associated with the research coordination network, ImmunoReach, convened virtually. As a result of these discussions, we request a call to action for a system-level change and present a set of practical recommendations that novice and experienced educators from diverse institutions, professional societies, and policymakers may adopt to foster immune literacy in their classrooms and communities.

Antigen and Immunogen: An Investigation into the Heterogeneity of Immunology Terminology in Learning Resources.

The need to focus on immunology education has never been greater. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has revealed that a significant proportion of our society is vaccine hesitant. Some of this hesitancy may stem from a general lack of understanding of how the immune system and immunological interventions work. In addition, social media platforms undercut public health efforts by quickly propagating a multitude of misconceptions and erroneous information surrounding the science behind these interventions. The responsibility to be advocates for science is well recognized by immunology researchers, educators, and public health professionals, as evidenced by the rich body of resources developed to communicate science to the lay audience. Scientific jargon, however, can be a barrier to effective communication and can negatively impact learning and comprehension. The field of immunology is especially laden with discipline-specific terminology, which can hamper educators' efforts to convey key concepts to learners. Furthermore, a lack of consistency in accepted definitions can complicate students' conceptual understanding. Learning resources, including textbooks, published in print or available online, and exclusively digital resources, continue to serve as the primary sources of information for both educators and students. In this article, we describe a vast heterogeneity in learning resource glossary descriptions of two key conceptual terms: antigen and immunogen We provide a perspective on pedagogical strategies to address these critical terms. Using current knowledge, we recommend an approach to standardize the definitions of the terms antigen and immunogen within the immunology educator community.