Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis Training Program

This proposal is a request for continued funding of an institutional pre- and postdoctoral NRSA Training Program in Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis at the medical school of Northwestern University which has been funded since 1996. Predoctoral training will be done in conjunction with the Driskill Graduate Program (DGP). The DGP will be the mechanism for recruitment of a pool of highly qualified graduate students from which candidates will be selected. The training program is also supported by the Northwestern Office for Postdoctoral Affairs and Immunobiology Center. The training program, unique among the training programs at Northwestern, will stress the basic mechanisms and interactive nature of immunology, microbiology, and pathogenesis and the collaboration of colleagues. The program includes 32 highly productive researchers experienced in pre- and postdoctoral training who collectively hold >36 million dollars per year in research funding and who can impart both basic and clinical perspectives to a group of outstanding trainees. The result will be a more productive research environment, both for the pre- and postdoctoral students and for the many projects funded by grants from the NIH and other federal and private agencies. A major research-in-progress event, IMP Day, will highlight before the entire community the accomplishments of the trainees. Feedback received at this event will be another way of enhancing the experience of our trainees. The training grant also proposes to foster trainee interactions with scientists at other institutions through trainee travel to national meetings (to present their research and to develop contacts) and through visits of prominent scientists to Northwestern as trainee-invited speakers. The training program also serves to focus the activities at the University aimed at educating students in the ethics of science and at recruiting underrepresented minorities to studies in immunology, microbiology, and molecular pathogenes