Experimental Immunology Training Grant

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a proposal for continued support for a multidisciplinary training program in "Experimental Immunology" at Loyola University Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine. Twelve well-funded faculty members with active research programs in molecular mechanisms of lymphocyte development and activation, cell transformation, virus entry, mucosal immunity, vaccine development and immunologic disorders have been assembled from the Department of Microbiology & Immunology; Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy; Medicine; Surgery-Burn Shock Trauma; Pathology; and the Oncology Institute. Dr. Katherine Knight, Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, is a highly regarded molecular immunologist with extensive academic training experience, and she will be the Training Program Director. A Training Program Committee and two outside consultants will assist Dr. Knight. The Training Program Committee will oversee the program, select pre-doctoral and postdoctoral trainees, and review the progress of the trainees. The outside consultants will provide general programmatic oversight. The pre-doctoral trainees will be primarily selected from the pool of Ph.D. graduate students matriculated through the Department of Microbiology & Immunology or the interdisciplinary Program in Molecular Biology after they have completed their first or second year of study. Trainees will take a Core Curriculum during the 1st semester, comprised of courses in Molecular Biochemistry, Cellular Biology, Systems Biology, and Methods in Biomedical Research. Subsequently, they will take a series of didactic courses including an immunology course and a minimum of one Topics in Immunology course. Students are expected to become knowledgeable in biochemistry, cell biology, molecular genetics, as well as immunology. Strong emphasis is placed on developing both oral and written communication skills. Post-doctoral trainees will receive their training in laboratories of the participating program faculty. All trainees and program faculty are expected to attend the weekly Immunology Journal Club and Immunology Seminars in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and in the Oncology Institute. A strategy to recruit minority and economically underrepresented individuals is included in the proposal. All members of the program faculty are committed to excellence in both research and teaching.