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Detailed Information

Program of Study

The Graduate Program in Immunology, in cooperation with the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics in the School of Medicine, offers a program of study leading to the Ph.D. degree in immunology.

Formal course work is concentrated in the first year and includes several required courses emphasizing the relevance of basic molecular and cellular biology to immunology. The immunology section of the curriculum includes basic immunology and advanced courses in molecular immunology and immunobiology, in which leaders in specific areas of research are invited to discuss topics of current interest with students. There is also a weekly seminar series that attracts immunologists of international stature. After students have completed the first year of formal course work, original research leading to a dissertation is the major feature of the training program. For the dissertation, students can select from a wide range of problems under study, including the mechanisms of antigen recognition by T cells expressing the alpha-beta or gamma-delta receptors; the pathogenesis of AIDS and AIDS vaccine development; the structure and function of proteins encoded by genes from the major histocompatibility complex; the biochemistry of lymphocyte activation; T-cell development and T-cell activation; leukocyte chemotaxis and the mechanisms of tumor-cell destruction by T cells, macrophages, and macrophage-derived products; immunoglobulin gene rearrangement and mutation and B-lymphocyte development; immunologic approaches to the treatment of cancer; dendritic cell development and function; mechanisms of transplant rejection; autoimmune disease mechanisms; antigen processing; innate immunity and the adaptive response to infectious agents; viral immunology; and mechanisms of immunologic tolerance. Most students complete their studies in four to six years.

Research Facilities

The program is committed to providing students with the opportunity to use state-of-the-art techniques in biomedical sciences as applied to molecular immunology. These facilities include state-of-the-art core units for proteomics; mass spectroscopy; genomics, including genetic mapping and microarrays; bioinformatics; protein structure determination; cell imaging; and flow cytometry. In addition, each lab is fully equipped to conduct studies on the immune system, using cellular, biochemical, and molecular biological approaches.

Financial Aid

Candidates accepted into the program are offered support that provides payment of tuition, medical insurance, and a stipend; in 2009–10, the stipend is $27,125 per year.

Cost of Study

Tuition for 2009–10 is $38,300 per year. Applicants accepted to the program have complete tuition coverage.

Living and Housing Costs

Single rooms and suites are available through the School of Medicine at costs that range from $700 to $800 per month in 2009–10. Off-campus housing is available within a few miles of the School at generally reasonable rates.

Student Group

The goal of the immunology training program is to train the next generation of immunologists to contribute to the generation of new knowledge on the basic mechanisms of the immune system and apply this knowledge to the understanding and treatment of disease. This is accomplished by selecting and supporting qualified trainees and providing relevant course work, with the participation of highly interactive faculty members who are accomplished researchers in the field of immunology. Students are an integral part of the general graduate medical environment, which includes nearly 900 Ph.D. students enrolled in the basic science departments of the School of Medicine. Five hundred medical students are also enrolled in the School of Medicine, and a comparable number of graduate students are enrolled in the adjacent School of Hygiene and Public Health.

Location

Baltimore and its suburbs have a population of approximately 1.5 million people. The city, which is located on an arm of Chesapeake Bay, has gained national attention for the success of its urban revitalization programs. The city is the site of a beautiful waterfront development that includes many charming shops, restaurants, and hotels; a science center; an extremely popular baseball stadium; and the National Aquarium. The city’s cultural attractions are extensive and include a theater for traveling Broadway shows, a repertory theater, an opera company, a symphony orchestra of national reputation, and several museums and major art galleries. In addition, Baltimore is 1 hour from Washington, D.C., and 3 hours from New York City. Year-round opportunities for outdoor recreation are provided by the Chesapeake Bay; the surrounding countryside; the mountains of western Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia; and the Atlantic Coast.

The University and The School

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine was opened in 1893. The University proper (founded in 1876) was the first American institution to place primary emphasis upon graduate study. As a result of this tradition, there is a very high proportion of graduate students in all divisions of the University.

Applying

Students are normally admitted in September. The bachelor’s degree from a qualified college or university is required. Applicants are expected to have had course work in organic and inorganic chemistry, general and advanced-level biology, physics, and calculus. Courses in immunology, biochemistry, and molecular biology, as well as undergraduate research experience, are recommended but are not required for admission. Underrepresented minority students are encouraged to apply. All applicants must take the standard Graduate Record Exam. The GRE Subject Test is no longer required. Applications must include transcripts of undergraduate and graduate grades, at least two letters of recommendation, and a statement of personal career objectives. Personal interviews at the University are recommended. The deadline for completed applications is January 10.

The Faculty and Their Research

• Mario Amzel, Ph.D., Professor (Biophysics). Recognition of flexible peptide; mimicry of antigen by anti-idiotypic antibodies; affinity maturation.
• Bruce Bochner, M.D., Professor (Medicine). Mechanisms of recruitment, activation, and survival of eosinophils, basophils, and mast cells in allergic inflammation; Siglec immunobiology; role of IgE in human allergic and anaphylactic responses.
• Lieping Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Professor (Dermatology and Oncology). Molecular pathways of T-lymphocyte costimulation and coinhibition; tumor immunology immunotherapy.
• Linzhao Cheng, Ph.D., Associate Professor (OB-GYN, Institute for Cell Engineering). Immune properties of human stem cells and transplantation.
• Andrea Cox, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Oncology). Cellular immune response to hepatitis C virus infection in order to better understand viral mechanisms of immune evasion and to reverse those mechanisms to enhance immunity to the virus.
• Stephen Desiderio, M.D., Ph.D., Professor (Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute for Cell Engineering). Molecular mechanisms of lymphocyte differentiation and activation; immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene assembly.
• Charles Drake, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Oncology). Immune response to cancer at a cellular and transcriptional level; using these data to augment the immune response to tumors in both experimental models and patients with cancer.
• Michael Edidin, Ph.D., Professor (Biology, Pathology, Materials Science). Biophysical characteristics and immunologic functions of MHC molecules; advanced imaging; analysis of membrane domains.
• Ephraim Fuchs, M.D., Associate Professor (Oncology). Developing clinically feasible strategies for breaking immunologic to cancer, resulting in the regression of advanced disease.
• Patricia Gearhart, Ph.D., Senior Investigator (Laboratory of Gerontology, NIA, NIH). Somatic mutation in immunoglobulin variable genes; DNA repair; B-cell differentiation.
• Diane Griffin, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chair (Molecular Microbiology and Immunology). Pathogenesis of viral infections.
• Abdel Hamad, D.V.M., Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Pathology). Role of the Fas pathway in regulating the cellular and molecular basis of autoimmune diabetes; development and function of intraepithelial double negative alpha/beta T cells and their role in mucosal tolerance.
• Alan Hess, Ph.D., Professor (Oncology). Immunology of bone-marrow transplantation and graft-versus-host disease.
• Elizabeth Jaffee, M.D., Professor (Oncology). Analysis of antitumor immune responses against human tumors; identification of the targets of tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells.
• Abraham Kupfer, Ph.D., Professor (Cell Biology, Institute for Cell Engineering). Cell activation by antigen presenting cells: The structure and function of the immunological synapse and its roles in the induction of activation or tolerance.
• Daniel Leahy, Ph.D., Professor (Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry). Three-dimensional structure of proteins involved in cell-cell and cell-matrix interaction and signaling.
• Hyam Levitsky, M.D., Professor (Oncology). Vaccine development; mechanisms of antigen-specific tolerance; identification of tumors.
• Li Lin, Ph.D., Principal Investigator (Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science, NIA, NIH). NF-?ß and angiotensin II signaling in cardiovascular system.
• Drew Pardoll, M.D., Ph.D., Professor (Oncology). Dissection of the antitumor immune responses; cancer gene therapy vaccine engineering; T-cell development and tolerance.
• Joel Pomerantz, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Biological Chemistry, Institute for Cell Engineering). Signal transduction in normal and cancer cells of the immune system.
• Jonathan Powell, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor (Oncology). T-cell effector versus regulatory differentiation; tolerance and cancer immunotherapy.
• Stuart Ray, M.D., Associate Professor (Medicine). Immune evasion by hepatitis C virus; neutralizing antibody responses; computational immunology.
• Noel Rose, M.D., Professor (Pathology). Cellular and molecular mechanisms of apoptosis; relevance to autoimmunity.
• Antony Rosen, M.D., Professor (Medicine). Mechanisms of autoimmunity with particular emphasis on the roles of apoptosis.
• Scheherazade Sadegh-Nasseri, Ph.D., Associate Professor (Pathology). Memory CD4 T-cell regulation of activation, tolerance, and longevity; molecular mechanisms in processing and presentation of antigens to T cells; roles for chaperones and accessory molecules.
• Jonathan Schneck, M.D., Ph.D., Professor (Pathology). Design of novel compounds that regulate T-cell responses and structural analysis of proteins central in the generation of immune response.
• Jyoti Sen, Ph.D., Investigator (Laboratory of Immunology). Signal transduction during T-cell development and function.
• Ranjan Sen, M.Sc., Ph.D., Chief (Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, NIA, NIH). Signal transduction during T-cell development, function, and aging.
• Robert Siliciano, M.D., Ph.D., Professor (Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute). Mechanisms of HIV persistence and latency; HIV evolution and drug resistance; antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection; HIV drug development.
• Mark J. Soloski, Ph.D., Professor (Medicine). Structure and function of mouse and human MHC gene products; immune response to stress proteins; role of MHC gene products in regulating T-cell immune responses during infection and autoimmunity; function of GPI-anchored surface structures in T-cell differentiation and function.
• Simona Stager, D.V.M., Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences). Development and function of CD8 T-cell responses in Leishmania infections; antigen presentation and host-parasite interactions; regulation of CD8 responses.
• T. C. Wu, M.D., Ph.D., Professor (Pathology). Antigen-specific vaccine development.
• Fidel Zavala, M.D., Professor (Molecular Microbiology and Immunology). Characterization of mechanisms involved in the development of effector and memory CD8+ T cells against infectious pathogens, particularly malaria parasites.
• Zhou Zhu, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor (Medicine). Immune regulation of allergic inflammation.

Correspondence and Information

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
For an application:
Office of Graduate Student Affairs
1830 Building, Suite 2-107
Baltimore, Maryland 21205
Telephone: 410-614-3385
Email: grad_study@jhmi.edu


Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
For specific information about the Graduate Program in Immunology:
Graduate Program in Immunology
Broadway Research Building
733 North Broadway, Suite 631
Baltimore, Maryland 21205
Telephone: 410-955-2709
Fax: 410-955-0964
Email: ajames@jhmi.edu or lreavis@jhmi.edu