Immunology Graduate Group

Core Areas of Research

The Immunology Graduate Group provides each trainee with an understanding of the conceptual and experimental foundation of modern immunology and imparts comprehensive knowledge of the immune system and its regulation while teaching the skills necessary for a successful career in biomedical science.  The program features a substantial breadth and depth of research, spanning all major areas of contemporary immunology.  The Penn immunology program is recognized not only for its leading role in numerous major immunological discoveries of the last decade but also for its highly collegial, interactive, collaborative and innovative approach to modern science.

 

Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology of the Immune System

Several laboratories at Penn are examining fundamental issues in molecular immunology, including signal transduction, transcriptional regulation, antigen receptor recombination and DNA repair in immune cells.  Another large set of investigators studies the cell biology of lymphocyte and natural killer cell activation, as well as the developmental biology and homeostasis of immune cells and tissues.  These investigators have strong ties with the cell and molecular biology and signal transduction communities at Penn.

Immunity to Infections

Penn investigators are studying the interface of innate and adaptive immunity, at the epithelial barriers where defense against pathogens is maintained or breached and in the inductive sites of clonal expansion, such as secondary lymphoid tissue.  Numerous researchers at Penn are exploring the role and regulation of the traditional and newly discovered helper T cell subsets, as well as their novel cytokine products, during infection with viral, bacterial and parasitic pathogens.  There are also many laboratories studying the differentiation and regeneration of effector and memory T cells, both helper and cytotoxic, in the defense against all classes of microbes.  Integrative techniques ranging from 4-dimensional in vivo imaging of the immune response against pathogens to systems biology approaches for high-throughput analyses of anti-viral immunity are being undertaken.   

 

Cancer Immunology

Cancer immunology research at Penn encompasses the entire spectrum from basic research of tumor cell recognition and tumor-immune system interactions to innovative clinical trials in cancer patients.  A number of investigators have pioneered novel vaccine approaches against cancer and have developed state-of-the-art techniques for boosting patient immunity.  Investigators working on both Immunity to Infections and Cancer Immunology have close ties with the microbiology, infectious diseases, vaccine, gene therapy and HIV research communities at Penn.

Autoimmunity, Tolerance and Immune-mediated Pathology

Using a wide spectrum of approaches and disease conditions, numerous investigators at Penn are focusing their efforts on the control of immune reactions.  Many laboratories are examining fundamental mechanisms involved in breakdown of physiological tolerance and are working to develop strategies to block destructive immune responses.  Several investigators at Penn have pioneered the understanding of how excessive immune response during infection is controlled. Laboratories at Penn are also developing novel approaches for inducing tolerance to organ transplants.

 

PENN - NIH Partnership

A world-renowned group of investigators from the intramural research program of the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland have joined Penn's faculty in Immunology, bringing to the Immunology Graduate Group the extraordinary resources and scientific expertise present at the NIH, one of the world’s largest and most illustrious biomedical research centers.  Educational opportunities on the NIH campus are offered to all Immunology students.  The NIH faculty participates fully in all aspects of our teaching programs at Penn's Philadelphia campus, including service on thesis committees.  The partnership also allows some students to pursue laboratory rotations and thesis research in the NIH laboratories.

 

 

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