University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Graduate Program in Immunology has been awarded a National Cancer Institute Training Grant in Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Tumor Rejection. The program provides opportunities for pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees to become independent investigators in tumor immunology while working within a larger program that of research in basic cellular and molecular immunological mechanisms as well as human disease.
| Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Foundations of Biomedical Science (AM) | 8 |
| Foundations of Biomedical Science (PM) | 4 |
| Survival Skills, Ethics courses | 1-2 |
| Introduction to Statistical Methods I | 3 |
| Comprehensive Immunology | 2 |
| Experimental Basis of Immunology | 2 |
| Contemporary Topics in Immunology | 4 (1 credit each term of year 2 & 3) |
| Immunology and Human Disease | 2 |
| TA: Medical Microbiology | 2 (1 credit in Spring term of year 2 & 3) |
| Electives (at least two courses) | 4+ |
| Total | 32+ |
Students interested in the Immunology Program will typically take Comprehensive Immunology and Experimental Basis of Immunology in the Spring semester of their first year, along with one or two elective courses. In the Fall semester of their second year, Immunology students will begin taking Contemporary Topics in Immunology (which they will take for two to three years, depending on their course credit requirements) and may take an elective course(s) as needed or desired. In the Fall semester of their second year, Immunology students will take Immunology and Human Disease, and may take an elective course(s) as needed or desired. Some of the electives appropriate for Immunology students include: "Immunology of Infectious Diseases" (offered by the MVM Program); "Vaccinology" (MVM Program); "Eukaryotic Molecular Genetics" (BMG Program); and "Molecular Mechanisms of Tissue Growth and Differentiation" (CMP Program). Students who do not take Immunology program courses in their first year can still join the Immunology program; they will take the above sequence of courses beginning in the Spring semester of their second year, and will therefore complete their electives before their required courses in most cases.