ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

The Department of Immunology is comprised of 18 laboratories that interact in a variety of shared interest groups. There is a strong cancer theme in the Department. The Jelinek, Knutson, Kwon, McKean, Pease, Vile, and Wettstein labs provide basic science leadership to the Immunology/Immunotherapy program that also includes an equal number of clinical investigators and core facility directors. The goal of this group is to bring scientific advances to the treatment of cancer and to identify clinical questions that might be amenable to science-based solutions. Another focus of strength in the Department is in the area of the molecular events governing cellular activation, with specific emphasis on the activation of T cells, NK cells, B-cells, and dendritic cells. Drs. Billadeau, Bram, Hedin, Jelinek, Kita, Leibson, McKean, and Pease form the Lymphocyte Activation Group. Other foci of interest include neuroimmunology (Lennon, Rodriguez, and Pease laboratories), autoimmunity (Lennon and David laboratories), gene therapy (Poeschla and Vile laboratories), allergy (Kita and Pease laboratories), and transplantation biology (Platt, Cascalho, and Wettstein laboratories).

Each of the laboratories is well-funded extramurally. As of April 2005, all 18 faculty members in the Department were principal investigators of at least one NIH R01 grant, and most investigators are the directors of multiple R01/P01 grants and are supported by additional extramural sources of research funding. In 2004, the Department published 110 research papers.

The Department has a strong academic commitment. There are approximately 30 Ph.D. students training in Immunology laboratories in both NIH funded Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. training programs. There are approximately equal numbers of Ph.D. students and post-doctoral fellows in the laboratories. Undergraduate research opportunities are sponsored within Immunology during the summer as the Department hosts 10 to 15 students from undergraduate institutions around the country for summer undergraduate research fellowships.