Basic Immunology Training Program

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PROJECT SUMMARY The Duke University Graduate Program in Immunology proposes a continuation of its Basic Immunology Training Program. The main objective of the Training Program is to select talented predoctoral candidates and to prepare them, through formal coursework, seminars and independent research, for outstanding and productive research careers in basic immunology. The training faculty consists of 32 immunologists who hold primary or secondary appointments in the Department of Immunology. This faculty provides trainees with opportunities for rigorous training in a range of areas of contemporary immunologic research, for example: mechanisms of lymphocyte and myeloid cell development and function, including lineage determination, V(D)J recombination, class switch recombination, somatic hypermutation, cell signaling, effector cell differentiation, lymphocyte and myeloid cell homeostasis, immunological memory and immunological tolerance; mechanisms of innate immunity and inflammation, including macrophage, dendritic cell, mast cell and complement function; mechanisms of host defense against bacterial, viral and fungal pathogens; autoimmunity; anti-tumor immunity; neuroimmunology; and vaccine development. Funds are sought to support the training of four predoctoral students per year. A selections committee will choose the most outstanding second and third year predoctoral trainees in the Graduate Program in Immunology for support by the Training Program. Special emphasis will be placed on the recruitment and selection of outstanding underrepresented minority trainees. A carefully crafted core curriculum will provide trainees with superb grounding in basic immunology, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology and genetics. Trainees will receive formal training in research ethics to insure that they will conduct their research with the highest standards of academic integrity. Trainees will also be provided a range of career development opportunities so that they are best equipped to parlay their training into productive and rewarding career paths.