Immunology Training Program-Predoctoral

Project Summary The Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine (SOM) is a leader in immunology research and education, with a rich history of seminal contributions to the field over many decades, including the discovery of the alternative pathway of complement. The Immunology Training Program Leadership Track (ITP-LT) is a training program within the broader Immunology PhD Program that is built to capitalize on the numerous strengths of the institution and our affiliates, which includes multiple departments at CWRU SOM, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (UHCMC), the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF; including the Lerner Research Institute) and the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center (VAMC), to prepare PhD and MD/PhD scientists for outstanding careers in immunology-related research. The Leadership Track places extra emphasis on developing the next generation of investigative group leaders for academia and industry (pharmaceuticals and biotechnology) as a central goal. Participating mentors provide a rich confluence of basic science, clinical activities and resources, and career development workshops to enrich the training of PhD students as they engage in basic and/or translational research ranging from innate immunity and signaling, T cell biology, antigen processing and presentation, complement, antibody structure and function, and mucosal immunity to research in clinically relevant models of infectious diseases (e.g. tuberculosis, HIV, malaria), immunopathology, transplantation and autoimmunity. Moreover, CWRU SOM has a newly developed Center for Systems Immunology (CSI) and has built a rare reputation for strength in glycoimmunology, or the role of glycans and their binding partners in the immune response. The ITP-LT draws upon these strengths and enjoys the explicit co-sponsorship by the CWRU Department of Pathology, CCF Department of Inflammation and Immunity, CWRU/UHCMC Division of Infectious Diseases, and the CWRU Center for Global Health and Disease. These unique research opportunities are central to the ongoing and future success of the ITP-LT. Training for the PhD degree in the program includes course work, research rotations, formal and informal seminars, a Thesis Proposal Defense/Qualifying Examination, research experience resulting in scholarly publications, career development activities, a PhD dissertation, and a variety of opportunities to come together to share and celebrate the accomplishments of the program's diverse population of trainees.