Immunobiology

The Anlyan Center (TAC) S555, 785.3857
Ph.D. (M.S., M.Phil. en route)

Chair
Richard Flavell

Director of Graduate Studies
Alfred Bothwell (TAC 641, 785.3857, alfred.bothwell@yale.edu)

Director of Graduate Admissions
David Schatz (TAC S625, 737.2255, david.schatz@yale.edu)

Student Services Officer
Barbara Giamattei (TAC S555, 785.3857, barbara.giamattei@yale.edu)

Professors
Jeffrey Bender (Internal Medicine), Alfred Bothwell, Joseph Craft (Internal Medicine), Peter Cresswell, Richard Flavell, Sankar Ghosh, Kevan Herald, Paula Kavathas (Laboratory Medicine), Ruslan Medzhitov, Jordan Pober, Nancy Ruddle (Epidemiology & Public Health), David Schatz, Mark Shlomchik (Laboratory Medicine), Robert Tigelaar (Dermatology)

Associate Professors
Akiko Iwasaki, Warren Shlomchik (Internal Medicine), Bing Su

Assistant Professors
Tian Chi, Susan Kaech

Fields of Study

The graduate program in Immunobiology is designed to prepare students for independent careers in research and teaching in Immunology or related disciplines. Training and research focus on the molecular, cellular, and genetic underpinnings of immune system function and development, and on host-pathogen interactions. Specific areas of interest include: B- and T-cell development, activation and effector functions; the role of cytokines in immunoregulation; intracellular signaling and the control of transcription in lymphocytes; antigen processing and presentation; immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene rearrangement; B-cell memory; the immunobiology of vascular endothelial cells; innate immunity; and B- and T-cell tolerance. Mechanisms of autoimmunity and immunodeficiency are a major interest, and a number of important human diseases are under study, including diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, and a variety of other infectious diseases.

The program emphasizes interdisciplinary training and collaborative and interactive research, an approach based on the idea that solving difficult problems requires the integration of individuals with common goals but differing expertise. Students enter the Immunobiology graduate program after completing their first year in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) graduate program. Students from any of the tracks of BBS may enter the program. Hence, Immunobiology has close ties with other graduate programs in the biological sciences at Yale.

Students are encouraged to supplement core courses in molecular and cellular immunology with additional courses selected from the wide range available in cell biology, molecular biology, developmental biology, biochemistry, genetics, pharmacology, molecular medicine, neurobiology, and bioinformatics. Research seminars and informal interactions with other graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty also form an important part of graduate education. Three laboratory rotations provide first-year students with a variety of research opportunities available at Yale. First-year students are considered BBS (Biological and Biomedical Science) students. The “BBS” has more than 200 faculty participants to whom students have full access.

Special Admissions Requirements

Applicants should have strong previous research experience and a strong academic background in biology, chemistry, and genetics with course work in physics and mathematics preferred. Submission of the GRE General Test is required. Submission of the Subject Test in Biology or Biochemistry is preferred.

To enter the Ph.D. program, students apply to an interest-based track within the interdepartmental graduate program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences.

Special Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree

Students are required to take seven courses for a grade in the Yale Graduate School.

Required graded courses for first- and second-year students are:

IBIO 530a, Biology of the Immune System
IBIO 531b, Advanced Immunology.

Two Immunobiology seminar courses are also required for second-year students and beyond. They are listed under the following numbers:

IBIO 536, IBIO 537, IBIO 538, IBIO 539.

To accommodate the growth of the graduate program, we have expanded the number of Immunology seminar courses offered from one course per year to three courses every two years.

An Immunobiology seminar course may be taken for audit if the student has previously taken seven graded courses and has already completed an Immunobiology seminar for a grade.

All first- and second-year BBS Immunology students must take:

IBIO 600a, Introduction to Research, taught every fall, credit-only course
IBIO 601b, Fundamentals of Research, taught every other spring, credit-only course.

Additional courses are determined based on the individual needs of the student, and include courses in biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, molecular biology of prokaryotes, molecular biology of eukaryotes, animal viruses, the structure of nucleic acids and proteins, microbiology, and disease mechanisms. Students choose courses after consulting an advisory committee made up of faculty from the Section of Immunobiology, as well as the director of graduate studies.

Honors:
The Graduate School uses grades of Honors, High Pass, or Fail. Students are required to earn a grade of Honors in at least two courses in the first two years, and are expected to maintain a High Pass average. There is no foreign language requirement.

Teaching:
Students are required to serve as TA (teaching assistant) for two terms before the end of their sixth term.

Early in their fourth term, students make a thirty-minute presentation to the section of their proposed research and initial results. Thereafter, they meet with their prospectus committee, which assigns four or five broad areas of biology and immunology that are of particular relevance to the proposed research and on which the student will be examined in the prospectus exam. During the next several months, students prepare a formal research proposal (in NIH grant format) concerning the proposed thesis research and study for the exam. The exam is oral, and covers all aspects of immunology generally, with a focus on the assigned areas mentioned above. The student is also questioned on aspects of the thesis proposal. Requirements for admission to candidacy, which usually takes place after six terms of residence, are (1) completion of course requirements and teaching requirements; (2) completion of the prospectus examination; and (3) certification of the student’s research abilities by vote of the faculty upon recommendation from the student’s thesis committee.

Progress in thesis research in the third and later years is monitored carefully by the student’s thesis committee (composed of the adviser and three or four other faculty). All students are required to have two meetings with their thesis committee annually, to provide an update on progress and an opportunity for the committee to provide feedback and suggestions.

M.D./Ph.D. Students Majoring in Immunobiology

Required: seven courses for a grade.

Out of the seven courses the following are mandatory:

IBIO 530a, Biology of the Immune System
IBIO 531b, Advanced Immunology
Two Immunobiology seminar courses: IBIO 536a, 537a, 538a, 539a (Seminars can be audited if a student has grades in seven other courses)

Also required:

Two grades of Honors. Yale University graduate courses taken for a grade at the School of Medicine may be counted toward the Honors fulfillment and the seven total required courses. Verification must be provided to the DGS.

One semester of teaching. Previously taught courses in the School of Medicine may count toward this requirement. To request credit for previous teaching experience, a note from the course director describing the teaching experience (duration of the teaching experience, frequency of class meetings, number of students taught, materials covered, dates, and for whom) should be provided to the Immunobiology DGS.

M.D./Ph.D. students are not required to take IBIO 600a, Introduction to Research, but may if they wish.

IBIO 601b, Fundamentals of Research [Ethics]. A note from the DGS of the M.D./ Ph.D. program must be forwarded to the Immunobiology DGS stating that the student has taken IBIO 601b, Fundamentals of Research, or its equivalent in the School of Medicine. Include dates, titles, and faculty. If the student has not taken 601b or the equivalent, then registration in this class is required.

Biannual committee meetings. Each student is required by the Immunobiology section to have a committee meeting every six months. Departmental Research in Progress talks can count. The committee supervisor will then prepare a letter to the DGS summarizing the student’s progress.

Master’s Degrees

M.S. (en route to the Ph.D.). Students who complete at least one year of resident graduate study at Yale with the quality of work judged satisfactory by the Section of Immunobiology faculty may petition for the award of the M.S. degree. At the present time “satisfactory” is defined as having completed five graduate courses with an average grade of High Pass. Students must petition through the Registrar’s Office of the Graduate School.
M.Phil. (en route to the Ph.D.). Following successful completion of the prospectus examination, the student will be entitled to the M.Phil. degree. Once all course work and departmental requirements have been met, the student will advance to candidacy and be A.B.D. (“all but dissertation”). At that point the student will normally focus on research and the writing of the dissertation.

The Web site at http://info.med.yale.edu/bbs/ offers complete information on the BBS, Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program, and the more than 200 participating faculty.

Courses

For a complete listing of immunology-related courses, visit http://info.med.yale.edu/bbs/

IBIO 530a, Biology of the Immune System. Sankar Ghosh.
MWF 9.25–10.15
The development of the immune system. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of immune recognition. Effector responses against pathogens; autoimmunity. Also MCDB 530a^u.

IBIO 531b, Advanced Immunology. Akiko Iwasaki and staff.
MW 4–6
The historical development and central paradigms of key areas in immunology. The course attempts to develop a clear understanding of how these paradigms were established experimentally. Landmark studies are discussed to determine how the conclusions were obtained and why they were important at the time they were done. Lecture and discussion format; readings of primary research papers and review articles. Prerequisite: IBIO 530a or equivalent. Enrollment limited to fifteen.

IBIO 539b, Advanced Immunology Seminar. Faculty.
Th 4
Topic and faculty to be announced.

IBIO 600a, Introduction to Research. Alfred Bothwell and staff.
W 5
Introduction to the research interests of the faculty. Required for all first-year Immunology students. Pass/fail.

IBIO 601b, Fundamentals of Research. Alfred Bothwell and staff.
W 4
Seminar discussing proper conduct of research. Required for first-year Immunobiology track and second-year Immunobiology students.

IBIO 603, Teaching in the Science Education Outreach Program (SEOP). Paula Kavathas.
TAs, along with volunteers, teach three projects in Genetics to seventh-graders in two or three New Haven schools. In addition, TAs take a short course on teaching and serve as science judges. Dates and times to be determined. For more details visit www.seop.yale.edu. For teaching credit. Also GENE 603a.

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