A Graduate-Level Interdisciplinary Curriculum in CAR-T Cell Therapy

To evaluate the impact of a novel interdisciplinary graduate-level course in chimeric antigenic receptor-T cell therapy on students' knowledge and interests in translational science.

The course ran November 12 to 16, 2018. Students were surveyed before and after the course. The survey included questions regarding background, self-perceived knowledge/confidence in skills, and interests/predicted behaviors. Students were assigned to work in collaborative interdisciplinary teams to develop a research proposal.

A total of 25 students taking the course for graduate-level credit were surveyed. Of these, all 25 (100%) completed the surveys. Students came from variable backgrounds and were at different stages of graduate training. After completion of the course, there was a statistically significant increase in self-perceived knowledge of immunotherapy (mean score of 3.6 postcourse vs 2.6 precourse, on a 5-point Likert scale; P<.001), knowledge of the bench to clinic translational process (3.7 postcourse vs 3.0 precourse; P<.001), confidence in critical reading skills (4.3 postcourse vs 4.0 precourse; P=.008), confidence in immunotherapy-focused grant writing skills (3.6 postcourse vs 2.8 precourse; P<.001), and interest in working in interdisciplinary teams (4.8 postcourse vs 4.6 precourse; P=.02).

The structure of this innovative and comprehensive course serves as a platform for educational courses in interdisciplinary translational research and helps trainees build knowledge and interest in the fields of chimeric antigenic receptor-T cells, regenerative sciences, and immunotherapy.