JoinAll Case Studies
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In keyword search, list the criteria you would like to find cases. Multiple criteria can be listed separated by commas (i.e. directed, high school)
Educational levels are defined as follows: Elementary, Middle, High School, College
Types of cases are defined as follows: Analysis/Issues, Clicker, Debate, Intimate Debate, Demonstration, Dilemma/Decision, Directed, Discussion, Interrupted, Jig-saw, Journal Article, Laboratory, Student Presentations, Mini-case, Problem-Based Learning, Public Hearing, Role-Play, Trial, Flipped, Game
By Thanos Myloneros, Ilaria Montagni, Janet A. De Souza-Hart
This case study uses a story involving time travel to help students integrate basic concepts in immunology, sociology, psychology, bioethics, and cultural competency, which are essential for improving public health related to vaccine-preventable infe...
By Claudia S. Kale, Sakhi Srinivasan
This case study follows the diagnosis and treatment of “Steven,” a patient detected with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) due to cirrhosis. In this story, Steven’s oncologist uses immunotherapy to treat Steven, giving students an opportunity to e...
Communication Gone Wrong in the Gut
By Isis D. Rivera-Walsh, Sheri L. Boyce
This case study tells the story of “Skylar” and her mom “Angie” who suffers from persistent diarrhea. What begins as a seemingly acute case turns chronic after a few weeks and Angie is eventually diagnosed with lymphocytic colitis. Skylar has...
Molly’s Medical Mission Maladies
By William M. Kolling, Catherine D. Santanello
This case study follows “Molly,” a volunteer with an aid organization conducting annual medical mission trips to Cameroon, Africa. On their most recent trip, her team was exposed to a local outbreak of listeriosis, and Molly was prophylacti...
By Emily Cornelius Ruhs, Cynthia J. Downs
This interrupted case study introduces students to resource-based trade-offs and immune-based trade-offs, and the implications of these trade-offs on the spread of disease. Students are first asked to interpret data on the energetically demandi...
By Ashlee E. Nelson, Sarah R. Sletten
This directed case study explores the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus and its impact on human health. The case is based on a true story of a woman who fell ill after eating raw oysters while visiting family in New Orleans during the month of August....
The Unluckiest Man in the World?
By Michaela Gazdik Stofer
This directed case study examines the immune system by introducing students to the story of Mr. Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the “Berlin patient.” Mr. Brown was the first human cured of HIV through a bone marrow transplant, which he endured a...
By Tiara G. Pérez Morales, Cynthia L. Darnell, Jayashree Sarathy, Heinery Arevalo
This set of “mini cases” focuses on autoimmune diseases, which arise when the immune system is unable to recognize its own components. Students are presented with two patients, “Claudia” and “Anita,” who are introduced through the use of ...
By Holly A. Basta, Sheela Vemu
This PowerPoint-driven case study follows a young woman who acquires a third-degree burn and receives a skin graft. As the graft becomes inflamed and infected, students interpret results from diagnostic tests (gram stain, MSA plates, etc.) to diagnos...
Is There a Relationship Between Blood Type and Risk of Contracting COVID-19?
By Ashley E. Rhodes, Timothy G. Rozell
This directed case study introduces the basics of blood typing and discusses possible correlations for contracting COVID-19 by blood type. After students complete a set of activities designed to help them understand how blood type is determined at th...
By Adam J. Kleinschmit
This directed case study places students in the role of committee members tasked with developing a strategic long-term plan for building up herd immunity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the infectious agent responsibl...
Are Vaccines and Autism Linked?
By David M. Zuckerman
This case study was written to reinforce the understanding that a successful hypothesis accounts for all relevant observations and is falsifiable through experimentation. Students evaluate two competing hypotheses to account for the increase in autis...
By Merle K. Heidemann (rr), Mike S. Taylor, Amanda Storm, Cassie Dresser-Briggs, Alexa Warwick, Peter J.T. White
Students who work through this case study will follow the progress of “Sam” as he explores the microbiological mechanism of oral allergy syndrome, including an investigation of the lymphocytes and antibodies involved. Upon discovering the biologi...
By Karen M. Aguirre
This historical case study is based upon events surrounding the deadly 1721 smallpox epidemic in Boston. It recounts the story of Cotton Mather, his slave Onesimus, and the physician Zabdiel Boylston. Urged by Mather, Dr. Boylston inoculated Bostonia...
A Shot in the Arm or a Hard Pill to Swallow?
By Dorothy P. Debbie
The immune response to a vaccine is influenced by the nature of the vaccine and the delivery method. In this interrupted case study, students traveling to a typhoid fever endemic area must decide which of two typhoid fever vaccine formulations would ...
Diagnosing and Treating Charlie’s Strange Spots
By Joseph D. Shih
This case study introduces a patient who comes into a doctor's office with an interesting set of symptoms that leads to an exotic cancer diagnosis. The case provides students with an opportunity to identify and classify patient information (signs, sy...
By Joseph DeMasi, Janet A. De Souza-Hart
This directed case study was written to help students learn about an innovative cancer therapy that harnesses a patient's immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells. The critical insight underlying this therapy is to use a cancer patient's o...
By Laura A. Schoenle, Cynthia J. Downs
This interrupted case study introduces two distinct, but not mutually exclusive, strategies for defending against parasites: resistance and tolerance. Students analyze and interpret research conducted on resistance and tolerance to gastrointestinal p...
By Kirsten L. Hokeness, Stephanie Mott
This case study introduces students to the complex field of immunology and the wide variety of host-pathogen interactions that drive evolutionary change. The case begins with a basic overview of the phases of the immune response and how each co...
By Chaya Gopalan, William B. Kist
Hyper-IgM syndrome is an X-linked genetic disorder more commonly affecting males than females. It is caused by the lack of heavy chain class-switching from IgM to other isotypes. Patients with hyper-IgM syndrome are susceptible to a variety of infect...
By Marcia Harrison-Pitaniello, Jessica L. Shiltz, Robert E. Hughes, Roger L. Estep, Anna B. Mummert
This PowerPoint-driven case study follows the progress of three undergraduate students as they attempt to model the rapid spread of an influenza outbreak to determine whether their local newspaper's claim that "40% of the campus has the flu" is accur...
By Catherine Dana Santanello, Scott J. Bergman
This story is based on the true account of a student who suffered years of misdiagnoses of her illness while she was in a professional school. As the case evolves, students follow the course of Sarah's illness. Part I of the case details the signs of...
By Cassy L. Cozine, Emily C. Gripka
This interrupted case study was designed for an upper level course in immunology where the topic of autoimmunity is discussed in detail. The storyline follows a woman with Celiac Disease and the effects that this autoimmune disease has on her l...
African Illness: A Case of Parasites?
By Kevin M. Bonney
This case is based on a British patient presenting to a hospital with an array of symptoms after returning from an African safari. Students learn about potential causes of the symptoms based on the patient's potential exposure to parasites endemic to...
By Jeffrey J. Byrd, Samantha L. Elliott
As nonliving entities, viruses face specific challenges when replicating in a host. Avoiding the host immune system is something that every virus aims for in order to successfully reproduce itself and infect another host. Many viruses rep...
By Jeffrey J. Byrd, Samantha L. Elliott
This case study considers the evolution of HIV from SIV, as well as the evolution of HIV within humans by mutation rate. It also discusses the immune evasion proteins NEF and VPU, and how anti-retroviral drugs act to stall viral replication. Finally,...
Why Was the 1918 Influenza So Deadly?
By Annie Prud’homme-Genereux, Carmen A. Petrick
In this intimate debate, students examine the causes of the devastation wrought by the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic. Students consider whether the 1918 flu was exceptionally deadly because of its biology, or whether prevalent geopolitical-socioeco...
Chickens and Humans and Pigs, Oh My!
By Jeffrey J. Byrd, Samantha L. Elliott
Influenza is a common topic in the popular press and a point of interest for many students. This case study was written to promote interdisciplinary connections between upper division virology and immunology classes. Students that partici...
By Karin Grimnes (rr)
This interrupted case study is a story about Carrie and her infant daughter Hayden who share similar symptoms: weight loss, metabolic abnormalities, and endocrine glands that just won't quit - as well as autoimmune complications. Students will eventu...
By Debby Walser-Kuntz
Taylor's doctor notices she has swollen lymph nodes and an elevated white blood cell count on her routine annual exam and asks her to return for a follow-up flow cytometry test to rule out chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Students follow along as ...
By Annie Prud’homme-Genereux
Cancer is usually thought to be a disease that affects individuals. But could cancer evolve to become infectious? This case follows the research on a form of transmissible cancer that is decimating the Tasmanian devil, the world’s largest carnivoro...
By Karen A. Pinco
This case study was developed to complement the study of the immune system and to emphasize the crosstalk that occurs at the cellular level between B and T cells for proper immune system function. In reading the story of a young couple trying to unde...
By Karen M. Aguirre
Dengue (pronounced "deng-ee") is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito, usually Aedes aegypti. It is common in tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia, India, South and Central America, and Mexico. There is concern that ...
By Kristen L.W. Walton
This interrupted case study follows the declining health of an infant who suffers from recurrent infections and finally is diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). The case was developed for use in an undergraduate upper-level immunolo...
By Kathleen A. Cornely
In the weeks following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, anthrax-laced envelopes were mailed to individuals in government and the news media. Thousands were treated for exposure, and five people wer...
By Brian Rybarczyk
This case introduces students to HIV, its life cycle, treatment, and problems associated with treatment options. The case, which incorporates critical thinking skills, active learning, self-directed study, and peer-to-peer learning, was developed for...
By Kate Rittenhouse-Olson
This dilemma case was designed for a junior level immunology course. It could also be used in a microbiology or bacteriology course where the emphasis is on treatment as well as disease....
By James A. Hewlett
This case involves the transfer of a food allergy to a patient who received a combined kidney and liver transplant from a donor who died as the result of an allergic reaction. In addition to learning about the various roles of immune cells, the physi...
By Clyde Freeman Herreid
In chronicling the life and death of a woman who developed diabetes as a teenager, this case study explores such basic science topics as metabolism, hormones, cell receptors, eye anatomy, and immunology as well as issues in nutrition, exercise, stem ...
By Linda L. Tichenor
This case study on the immune system, cell cycle regulation, and cancer biology explores the role that serendipity plays in new discoveries in science, how scientific research is funded, and the personal and professional implications of unexpectedly ...