Written by Kelly A. Hogan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

When explaining how complement or antibodies enhance the innate system’s phagocytes to engulf these coated pathogens, I explain my behavior at a buffet. I may see vanilla cake, plain ice cream, short bread cookies etc. and all of these might taste good if I chose them. However, if my eye catches something with chocolate chips on it, I am immediately drawn to it and choose this to eat.Movie Get Out (2017)

Written by Gidi Shemer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

When discussing the immune system in human physiology, the military is the star of the show. The first line defense (e.g. our skin) can be represented by the physical barriers we have in our borders, defending us from the enemy (e.g. bacteria). The second line of defense (e.g. the phagocytes of the innate immune system) is represented by the soldiers who are found at the front lines. The third defense, the adaptive immune system, our B and T cells, is represented by the elite forces. These elite forces are more expensive, hard to come by, and called to action by the plain soldiers, but they provide modern, selective, and sophisticated tactics to fight the enemy.

Written by Sheri Kuslak, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

When discussing chemokines and chemotaxis of immune cells to an injury site I describe college students’ response to the smell of pizza. For example imagine a classroom containing a dozen freshly baked pizzas being similar to an injury site in the human body. As the smell of pizza (chemokines) wafts through the air into the hallways the students (immune cells) follow the smell to the source (chemotaxis). Once the students (immune cells) find the source they begin eating the pizza (healing the injury through specialized processes). Once the pizza is gone (injury is healed), the pizza smell (chemokines) subsides therefore not drawing in any more students to the classroom (the former injury site).