This is the Integrated Immunology Website, a site dedicated to the promotion of the understanding of immunology through an integrated approach in its presentation.

Immunology can be a very confusing and daunting subject for many. Its complexity is too often seen as a major problem to the person who either because of some personal interest or because of a school requirement must undertake its study. But, if it is a problem, it is not one without solution.

To my own students, I have often likened the study of immunology to the fitting together of a jigsaw puzzle. You too will agree that having a picture of what the finished puzzle should look like, makes the task much easier, since you have some idea of where each little piece fits in the big picture. So too, understanding the use of a word in a sentence is easier if one appreciates the theme of the paragraph--and even the entire literary work itself--the place, context, and function of the sentence, and the word, in that broader scheme. If one understands the whole, it is easier to understand the purpose and function of the individual parts.

With respect to immunology, I have found that if one should begin by understanding the big (macroscopic) picture of how the body defends itself against outside invasion and against the threats of renegade cells inside, and then proceed to study the smaller (microscopic) details of the organs involved, and the cell-cell, cell-molecule, and molecule-molecule interactions that make the immune system tick, then the subject can become quite easy to understand.

But, I never always had this kind of light. There was a time when immunology was a nebulous branch of science for me. Being afflicted with a disease that was the result of my immune system's dysfunction (more in my short autobiography), I had a compulsion to understand what was happening to me. To understand the disease, I had to first understand how the immune system worked. So, for months I read dozens of books and magazines, but the more I read the more confusing it seemed. Then one early morning as I was laying in bed thinking, I asked myself the question: "what happens inside when a dirty thorn pierces the skin?" Based on all I had read, I tried to imagine what would happen, and a beautiful picture began to appear in my mind. On my next visit to the library, each immunology magazine I took from the shelves to read became so easy to understand. I was amazed--and excited. Since that day, I have always approached the understanding of any area of immunology by integrating all new information into, and viewing it in light of, the ever expanding big picture. I have also used this method to effectively help schoolmates, and then my students, and this success was what prompted me to create this site to present immunology in an easy-to-understand manner.

I hope that the information I present here will prove useful to you, assisting you in your understanding of the wonderful complexities of one of the most intriguing systems of the body--the immune system.