Overview
The University's Medical Center's Faculty Trains Students in an Interactive Environment of Basic and Clinical Sciences
The Graduate Program in Immunology provides training within the Duke University Medical Center environment that supports clinicians, students, and researchers. The training faculty consists of 25 immunologists who have primary or secondary appointments in the department. Because many program faculty members hold primary appointments in other departments, including medicine, pediatrics, surgery, pharmacology, pathology, and biostatistics and bioinformatics, the program provides students with an interactive and collaborative environment that spans both basic and clinical sciences at Duke.
The faculty provides immunology trainees with opportunities for study in a range of areas of contemporary immunological research, for example: mechanisms of lymphocyte development and function, including lymphoid lineage commitment, V(D)J recombination, lymphocyte signaling, effector cell development, homeostasis, and tolerance; mechanisms of innate immunity and inflammation, including macrophage, dendritic cell, mast cell, and complement function; mechanisms of host defense against bacterial and viral pathogens; the development of autoimmune and immunodeficiency diseases; and anti-tumor immunity. Advanced research facilities foster these investigations.
These facilities offer shared resources within the Duke University Health System. Resources include the following facilities: DNA analysis, transgenic mouse, microscopy, cell culture, and proteomics. There is a close connection between basic researchers and clinical investigators in the Department of Immunology. This is instrumental for the translation of research findings into therapies and treatments for and future discoveries in disease.
Department Activities, Including Seminars and Journal Clubs, Prepare Immunology Students for Success
Duke University's Graduate Immunology Program encourages its graduate students to play a central role in a full scope of department activities as they gain knowledge to contribute to their fields. Department faculty members are highly committed to graduate education and maintain close mentoring relationships with graduate students.
Students receive training through formal coursework in immunology. They also enroll in elective courses in various scientific disciplines, such as molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, pharmacology, and cell biology. Through a sequence of laboratory rotations during their first-year, predoctoral students are introduced to the Department of Immunology laboratories. They can then prepare to choose a laboratory for their dissertation work by the end of this first year. The laboratory and classroom experiences, supplemented by departmental activities, help students prepare to be at the forefront of their fields.
The graduate student experience is enhanced by numerous departmental activities, including seminar series, journal clubs, and a departmental retreat. Graduate students are encouraged to attend national scientific meetings to present their work and meet scientists within their fields. The Graduate Program in Immunology shares an expansive range of immunological research with students through the weekly seminars, which may include lectures by notable speakers from around the globe or from within the Medical Center itself. Seminars are also presented by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
Research Triangle Park is a High-Tech Research and Development Center and Home to Duke University
Duke University is located in Durham, North Carolina, inside the Research Triangle Park, or RTP. Situated at the core of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary CSA (combined statistical area), the park is a globally prominent, high-tech research and development center serving as a regional economic driver. RTP is a model for innovation, education, and economic development that has been applied worldwide. The Research Park region features diverse people, communities, and lifestyles.
RTP is home to Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, as well as recipients of the U.S. Presidential Award and National Foundation Awards. Forty-seven percent of adults in the RTP area hold college degrees. In this region, graduate students find the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Triangle Universities Computation Center, the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina, and numerous private enterprises.
With a population of 227,000, Durham is located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. This southeast location offers graduate students a temperate climate. Students have access to a metropolitan area of more than one million people just twelve miles away from the RTP area, and are immersed in a thriving cultural and academic community. Other major universities in Triangle Park include the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University at Raleigh.
