Immunogenetics Immunogenetics Immunogenetics or immungenetics is the branch of medical genetics that explores the relationship between the immune system and genetics. Autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, are complex genetic traits which result from defects in the immune system. Identification of genes defining the immune defects may identify new target genes for therapeutic approaches. Alternatively, genetic variations can also help to define the immunological pathway leading to disease. Its origin is usually attributed to Edward Jenner, who discovered in 1796 that cowpox, or vaccinia, induced protection against human smallpox. It took two centuries before the World Health Organization announced in
Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research The Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research was an independent research institute named after Edward Jenner, the inventor of vaccination. It was co-located with the Compton Laboratory of the Institute for Animal Health on a campus in the English village of Compton. After occupying temporary laboratory space at the Institute for Animal Health from 1996, the Institute moved to a newly completed laboratory building in 1998. Funding of the Institute continued until October 2005 when it was closed. A successor institute, formed by a partnership between the University of Oxford and the UK Institute