Graduate Studies Introduction
The science of immunology arose from attempts by physicians in earlier
centuries to explain the observation that individuals who have recovered
from an infection are commonly resistant to that infection on subsequent
exposure. This, and the observation that milkmaids who became infected
with cowpox were protected during outbreaks of smallpox, led Edward Jenner
in the late 1700s to inoculate individuals with cowpox and thereby render
them resistant or immune to later challenge with an otherwise lethal or
severe infection with smallpox. This first successful trial of vaccination
both gave birth to the field of immunology and ultimately led to the worldwide
eradication of smallpox nearly 30 years ago. Through two centuries of
exploration, immunology has remained at the leading edge of scientific
discovery that now encompasses basic molecular and cellular biology, the
biology of complex systems and the translation of basic research into
medically useful agents and strategies
At least three independent factors underlie the importance of immunology
in contemporary biomedical science:
- Advances in immunology provide fundamental insights into molecular,
cellular and developmental biology. Hematopoietic cells, and in particular
lymphocytes, are arguably the best characterized of all cell types and
provide a powerful system in which to explore the role of fundamental
processes, including gene regulation, signal transduction, cell differentiation
and homeostasis.
- Immunology is intrinsically interesting. The evolution of multicellular
organisms required the parallel development of systems for cell recognition
and for defense against parasitism. To do so, millions of potentially
injurious macromolecules must be recognized and recognition of those
structures associated with potential pathogens must trigger powerful
effector mechanisms that permit elimination of the offending microorganisms.
These recognition and effector systems must somehow distinguish the
universe of potentially harmful molecules from an equally diverse repertoire
of structurally similar 'self' components. Exquisite specificity is
achieved by the adaptive (antigen-specific) immune response through
the elaboration of an extraordinarily diverse repertoire of immune receptors
on T and B lymphocytes, utilizing a relatively small fraction of the
total information content of the vertebrate genome, through a process
of DNA recombination unique to these cell types. Similarly, mechanisms
of antigen processing and presentation reflect an extraordinary degree
of specialization. The intraspecies heterogeneity of the major histocompatibility
complex genes, and the selection pressures that presumably maintain
this diversity, represent uniquely important aspects of vertebrate biology.
Despite their exquisite specificity, T and B cell receptors do not intrinsically
discriminate between 'self' and 'non-self.' Rather, such discrimination
appears to be conferred by another invariant set of pattern recognition
receptors on cells of the innate immune system that truly discriminate
between non-dangerous 'self' and injurious 'non-self.'
- Studies in immunology have considerable clinical importance. As already
noted, vaccines have arguably had the greatest impact on human health
of all medical interventions to date. Moreover, immunologic research
cuts a broad swath through clinical medicine: the results of basic research
in immunology are in many cases immediately applicable to the treatment
or prevention of infectious, autoimmune, and neoplastic diseases, among
others.
The Department of Immunology includes 32 faculty (18 Professors, 4 Associate
Professors and 10 Assistant Professors), who actively participate in graduate
training and supervise research programs, and ~30 graduate students and
~75 post-doctoral trainees. Members of the faculty are world authorities
in diverse aspects of immunology. They are part of an extraordinarily
strong and diverse environment for the training of biomedical scientists
at the University
of Washington, which consistently ranks in the top 2-3 institutions
nationally in support from the National
Institutes of Health. The research environment provided by the University
of Washington is augmented by neighboring and affiliated institutions,
including the Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) and the Benaroya
Research Center at Virginia Mason (BRI-VM)). The FHCRC is one of
the foremost cancer research centers in the nation, and the VMRC has in
the past decade grown to become a robust center for the study of human
immunology and genetics. The Institute
for Systems Biology, which is also nearby, applies the tools of high-throughput
functional genomics, proteomics and computational biology to define human
genetic variations that contribute to disease susceptibility, in particular
susceptibility to autoimmunity, cancer and infection.
Our training program is designed to provide graduate students with the
opportunity to pursue an understanding of immune responses in molecular
detail and to do so in an environment in which the relevance for the understanding
and management of human biology and disease is emphasized. This foundation
enables our students to make fundamental discoveries and serves as a starting
point for careers in academic, biotechnology and pharmaceutical research
programs. The need for talented scientists in these areas, both in the
academic realm and in industry, is clearly established.
Admission to the program is quite competitive. We believe that the course
of study, while challenging, will be rewarding and provide students with
a rigorous approach to scientific inquiry that will serve them well regardless
of their ultimate area of interest and career path. You may find examples
of the work done by our students under publications.
We welcome your questions (immgrad@u.washington.edu)
and look forward to sharing the excitement of immunology research with
you.
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