Education & Training
A core mission of the Immunogenetics and Transplantation Laboratory is to provide educational programs that leverage the knowledge and skills of the ITL faculty, staff and its state-of-the-art resources.
Lectures at UCSF
ITL offers lectures on histocompatibility and immunogenetics throughout the year to transplant programs at UCSF.
Courses for Transplantation Health Professionals
ITL also offers the following courses and training for transplantation professionals:
Histocompatibility Testing for Solid Organ Transplantation
This full-day intensive workshop is offered three times per year and includes a series of didactic lectures and laboratory demonstrations and is focused on histocompatibility testing for solid organ transplantation. It provides an overview of the laboratory methods and their application in solid organ transplantation in conjunction with case studies.
Intended Audience: physicians, surgeons, fellows, transplant coordinators, laboratory technicians, laboratory supervisors, graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and healthcare professionals.
Technologist Training in Histocompatibility Testing
ITL offers a paid one-year formal training program approved by the State of California leading to a clinical histocompatibility scientist (CHS) license. This training requires a baccalaureate degree in life and/or clinical laboratory sciences. Training starts the first week of March, June, September and December of each year. Applications are accepted and processed all year.
The training position is a 13-month commitment since the American Board of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ABHI), the national testing board for clinical histocompatibility technologist, requires 12-months of experience in an ASHI-accredited laboratory. ITL does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or age in any of its policies, procedures or practices including admission to the training program.
Trainees will rotate through the various sections of the laboratory under the supervision of licensed technologists and will practice different skills and techniques using actual clinical specimens, case studies, and laboratory equipment and instruments. The training program stresses the development of skills to be able to perform histocompatibility tests with competence and confidence at any licensed clinical laboratory.
For More Information
To learn more about our coursework and training, please email us at [email protected].
Current Videos
The Virtual Crossmatch - UCSF Kidney Transplant Program Update in Transplantation
The case for, benefits of, and potential pitfalls involved in the virtual crossmatch.
The Crossmatch: Is Virtual Better Than Real?
Future Videos
- The basics of HLA: Genetics, Structure, and Function
- HLA typing and matching for therapeutic transplantation
- Scientific principles of HLA antibody characterization
- Crossmatch methods and risk assessment for transplant outcome
- Clinical significance of HLA antibodies
- Killer cell Immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR): Diversity, Polymorphism and Evolution
- Diversity of KIR-HLA gene combinations and the relevance in clinical transplantation and disease association
- Using KIR for Donor Selection for HCT
- Chimerism and engraftment monitoring