Immunology & Microbial Pathogenesis

The Immunology & Microbial Pathogenesis (IMP) program is a multidepartmental, interdisciplinary PhD program of training and research. It encompasses the study of the immune system and its dysregulation, as well as the study of viral, bacterial and parasitic organisms and their effects on their hosts. The faculty of the program are composed of immunologists, virologists, microbiologists, cellular biologists, cancer immunologists, and parasitologists, all working towards the scientific goal of understanding the functioning of the immune system, biology of microorganisms, and interactions between host and pathogens using biochemistry, cellular, genetic and molecular approaches. The program also hosts a vaccine center dedicated to the development of vaccines against a variety of human pathogens and cancer.

The IMP PhD program is coordinated through the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and is designed to provide students with a strong, basic knowledge of immunology, microbiology, biochemistry, cell biology and molecular biology, with additional exposure to other areas of related interest. The ultimate goal of this program is to provide aspiring students with individualized background, training and experience necessary to launch careers as independent scientific investigators and teachers.

The Program is focused on research training, which begins in the first year as rotations in different laboratories and continues as the student begins their thesis project in a chosen mentor's laboratory. Course work generally occupies the first two years of study. The program also sponsors journal clubs and seminars in microbiology and related areas. A comprehensive exam is taken at the end of the second year, completion of which marks formal entry into the PhD portion of the Program.

Research laboratories are located in multiple departments across the university and include all laboratories in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology. In addition to extensive basic equipment and facilities, the Program provides access to numerous specialized resources. These include facilities for work with cell sorting by flow cytometry, biomolecular imaging, small animal imaging, a meta-omics core providing cutting edge genomic and proteomic approaches as well as bioinformatics support, X-ray crystallography and histopathology.