We are Non-Profit Company and Public Benefit Organisation in South Africa
The Immunopaedia Foundation NPC offers free immunology education to everyone, anywhere in the world.
- We provide free immunology education
- We create and support online courses targeted towards students in low-and-middle income countries
- We offer health professionals in South Africa a free opportunity to earn Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points
Background
Immunopaedia.org was launched at the 2005 South African AIDS Conference and at that time, the focus was on the immunology of HIV infection in children- and hence the origin of the name: Immunopaedia – the immunology of paediatrics.
Immunopaedia always has been free and open access. Initially aimed at clinicians; we use clinical case studies to educate on immunology.
Over the last 20 years we have expanded to become a broader resource of immunological knowledge.
Courses
We create and host online courses in partnership with the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) and other bodies. These courses educate and support participants and students before and after Immunology conferences and courses world-wide.
The IUIS Education Committee developed the concept of interactive regional workshops supported by preparatory online specific course modules to optimize contact teaching time. These online courses are managed and developed by Immunopaedia. Immunological concepts, clinical findings as well as multiple illustrations are used to build dynamic and interactive courses.
We provide frameworks of knowledge so that participants can fully engage and get the very best out of real-world courses. We also provide lectures, relevant resources and assessment to educate users on all fronts.
The people behind Immunopaedia
Clive Gray, PhD
Clive Gray is the founder of Immunopaedia. He was awarded a PhD in transplantation immunology in 1994 and subsequently moved into HIV/AIDS research seeing this as a priority in the South African context. He has since worked at the Center for AIDS Research at Stanford University investigating specific cellular immunity to HIV in individuals receiving antiretroviral drug therapy. He was one of the first to publish on the restorative effects of HAART on the immune system and was lead author on one of the first papers to show diminished antigen-specific CD8+ T cells in response to lowering antigen load by suppressing viral replication with HAART. Locally he has co-coordinated pioneering workshops on HIV vaccines, been actively involved in the scientific agenda of vaccine development in South Africa and was the Chair of the Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine at the University of Cape Town. He is recipient of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation International Leadership Award, allowing the development of Immunopaedia.
Bonamy (Bon) Holtak
Bonamy, better known as Bon, is our Senior Communications Officer and a Director of the Immunopaedia Foundation. Bon curates and coordinates Immunopaedia, she is responsible for content and development as well as overseeing all administrative aspects. She manages all e-learning on the website and planning and project management. Bon also manages digital marketing and event planning. She also oversees finances and manages the administration of the Immunopaedia Foundation.
Caleb Petersen
Mbali Mkonza
Stefan Botha
Steering Committee
The Immunopaedia Steering Committee consists of a diverse group of members that hold a variety of skill-sets and research focuses.
| Dr Gilbert Fauré
Professeur des Universités External Profile – Linkedin |
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Dr Gary Entrican
Moredun Research Institute, Scotland External Profile – Moredun |
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| Dr Monica Mercer
Director, Scientific and Medical External Profile – Linkedin |
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Dr Olivier Boyer
Proffessor at University de Rouen, External Profile – University de Rouen |
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| Dr Ridha Barbouche
Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunisia External Profile – Pasteur Institute |
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Dr Guido Ferrari
Duke University, North Carolina, USA External Profile – Duke University |
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| Dr Menno van Zelm
Associate Professor at Monash External Profile – Linkedin |
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Dr Maria Roso Bono
Departamento de Biología, Facultad External Profile – University of Chile |
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| Dr Shubhada V. Schiplunkar
Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research & Education In Cancer (ACTREC) Mumbai External Profile – ACTREC |
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Dr J. Alejandro Lopez
Program Director, Medical Science External Profile – Linkedin |
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| Dr Luis F García
Emeritus Professor External Profile – ResearchGate |
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History
Dr. Clive Gray, the founder of Immunopaedia, received the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation International Leadership Award to develop a web-based resource to enhance the knowledge of immunology in South Africa-based clinicians. Based on the feedback received from South African paediatricians, who at the time saw immunology as a “laboratory science with little application to clinical practice”, Dr. Gray and colleagues developed a web-based teaching system which later became known as Immunopaedia. The main method employed in this system was a “Trojan Horse Approach” whereby, mentees were presented with a clinical case study and were gradually “lured” into a detailed investigation of clinical and immunological foundations of disease.
Since its inception, Immunopaedia has become a source of immunological knowledge for a broad audience of students, healthcare providers and researchers from both clinical and basic science backgrounds.
Awards
Immunopaedia was awarded the Science Prize for Online Resources in Education (SPORE) in 2010. This was a first for a South African online initiative. The SPORE prize was developed to single out the best online materials in science education.
AAAS – Immunology Web Site Awarded Prestigious Prize by Science
Milestones
- 2004: Clive Gray funded by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
- 2005: Immunopaedia.org launched in Durban, South Africa
- 2007: New web design and offering immunology workshops
- 2008: Awarded Immunopaedia scholarships to researchers
- 2009: New web design
- 2010: Awarded the Science Prize for Online Resources in Education (SPORE)
- 2014: Partneship with the International Union of Immunology Societies
- 2015: Partnership with I Care for use of immunology materials
- 2015: Support for IUIS courses in Medellin Colombia and Cape Town, South Africa: ImmunoColombia and
- ImmunoSouth Africa
- 2016: Support for IUIS courses in Tunisia (ImmunoTunisia), Mexico (ImmunoMexico), The Gambia (ImmunoGambia) and other courses in Kilifi, Kenya (KENPOB3)
- 2017: Support for IUIS course in Gondar, Ethiopia (ImmunoEthiopia) in Cape Town, South Africa (ImmunoSouth Africa 2017) and Brazil (Immuno-Brazil) plus Immunology in the Tropics, Entebbe, Uganda.
- 2017: Immunopaedia Ambassadors programme launched creating a network of IUIS scholars alumni
- 2018: Support for IUIS course in Morocco (Immuno-Morocco), Kenya (Immuno-Kenya) and Tehran, Iran (Immuno-Iran)
- 2019: Immunopaedia Foundation NPC registered
- 2019: Support for IUIS course Mexico-Immunoinformatics, Immuno-South Africa 2019, Immuno-Benin and Immuno-Jaipur, India.
- 2020: Support for IUIS Immuno-Ethiopia 2020 and support, organization and running of fully virtual Immuno-Algeria 2020.
- 2021: Immunopaedia Foundation registered as PBO
- 2021: Support, organization and running of fully virtual Immuno-Colombia 2021 and support and organization of hybrid Immuno-Tunisia 2021
- 2022: Support, organization for Immuno-Argentina 2022 and Immuno-Zambia 2022
- 2023: Support, organization for Immuno-Morocco 2023, Immuno-India 2023 and Immuno-Chile 2023
