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The University of Pittsburgh has a long tradition of
excellence in immunology, which is being continued and
extended in the 21st century. The Immunology Program faculty has
over forty active members, including senior faculty with
international stature and junior faculty recruited from
the most productive universities and research institutes.
Members' research labs are funded by grants from the NIH,
NSF, and many disease-associated foundations. Program
members include organizers of Keystone Symposium meetings,
members of NIH study sections, and Associate Editors of
the Journal of Immunology. Because immunology is a field
that impacts on so many aspects of health and disease,
Immunology Program faculty members have academic
appointments and co-appointments in many departments
of the Medical School, including Immunology, Molecular Genetics and
Biochemistry, Pathology, Pharmacology, Medicine,
Opthalmology, Surgery, Dermatology, and Pediatrics. Many
Program members also hold memberships in the University
of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), the Arthritis
Institute, Molecular Medicine Institute, and/or the
Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute. This
departmental inter-relatedness of the members strengthens
the Program's cohesion and promotes opportunities for new
collaborations among members, to address new cutting-edge
research issues in immunology.
Cancer immunology, infectious disease immunology, organ
transplantation, autoimmunity, immunology of lung
diseases, and basic immunology are
topics that currently form the focus of many Immunology
Program members' research efforts. Many recent clinical
breakthroughs have been achieved at Pitt that directly
derive from the basic research of Immunology Program
laboratories. For example, clinical trials for the
treatment of melanoma are based on new understandings
of the importance of dendritic cells in initiating potent
immune responses. Clinical trials to induce
transplantation tolerance via bone marrow transplantation
are based on new understandings of bone marrow stem cell
characteristics and T lymphocyte development. Clinical
trials on the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis via gene
therapy are based on new understandings of the regulatory
role of inflammatory cytokines in autoimmune disease.
Graduate student members in Program labs contribute
directly to the success of these important projects.
Most critically, the research of current and future
graduate students will lead to the next generation of
immune-based therapies of human disease.
For more information on the University of Pittsburgh
School of Medicine Biomedical Sciences Graduate Studies
Programs as well as information about Pittsburgh, one of
America's most livable cities, go to the Graduate Studies
Home Page.
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