Training Program in Bacteriology

Training Sites:

  • University of Pennsylvania

Our growing community of microbiologists has developed an outstanding environment for mentoring pre- and postdoctoral trainees in prokaryotic biology. This effort is now producing highly qualified individuals to meet national and international priorities related to bacteriology and to the growing problems of emerging and re-emerging bacterial diseases. The training program supports 2 PhD candidate predoctoral fellows as well as one postdoctoral fellow per year, enabling them to obtain an in-depth experience in any one of twelve laboratories directed by principle investigators who study important aspects of bacterial physiology or disesases of humans, animals or plants. The trainers have been selected because their research programs in these areas are well established, being supported by NIH or other federal grants and/or having published extensively on these topics. One of the strengths of the prokaryotic community is a diversity that has already fostered productive scientific interactions between three Schools and six Departments at this leading research university. The group of trainers encompasses the major areas of research on bacteria including bacterial-host interactions of leading extracellular (Weiser, S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae; Binns, A. tumefaciens; Zhu, V. cholera; and Schifferli, E. coli and Y. pestis) and intracellular (Goldfine, L. monocytogenes; Rubin, M. tuberculosis) pathogens, the developement of novel vaccines (Paterson, Schifferlie and Weiser), immunopathogenesis and use of bacteria as agents in immunotherapy (Paterson, Shen), the structure and function of key components bacterial cell surface (Goulian, Daldal, Pohlschröder) and bacterial signaling of target cells (Binns, Goulian, Zhu). These trainers together published articles on over twenty-two bacterial species in the past eight years, which, in conjunction with the breadth of research topics and techniques available in their laboratories, offers numerous research opportunities for current and future trainees. The research opportunities provided by the trainers coupled with strong institutional commitment and an extensive and well-organized training program promises to provide excellent training in bacteriology to both students and postdoctoral fellows.

To be trainees on this grant, students must be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree through the biomedical graduate studies program at the University of Pennsylvania. Inquiries and requests for application forms can be sent to:

BIOMEDICAL GRADUATE STUDIES
240 John Morgan Building
37th & Hamilton Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6064
Telephone: (215) 898-1030
FAX: (215) 898-2671
E-mail: bgs@mail.med.upenn.edu

Postdoctoral

Training is centered around a research program conducted in the laboratory of one of the trainers whose research interests can be found at: http://www.med.upenn.edu/micro/faculty.html. Bacteriology related training is supplemented by a number of seminar series, conferences, and retreats organized by the University of Pennsylvania and The Wistar Institute (http://www.med.upenn.edu/micro/seminars.html). Fellows also receive training in ethical and responsible conduct in research.

TRAINERS

Interested candidates should send curriculum vitae and three letters of reference to:

Dr. Jeffrey Weiser
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Department of Microbiology
Room 402A Johnson Pavilion/6076
3610 Hamilton Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tel (215) 573-3511
Fax (215) 573-4856
weiser@mail.med.upenn.edu
facultyresearcheducationseminarswhats newadminfacilitiescontacthome