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Undergraduate Immunology Program College of Arts and Sciences | Heersink School of Medicine

Shahid-Muhktar-labCurrently, at UAB there are over 100 faculty who identify themselves as basic or clinical immunologists and are members of the multi-disciplinary Program in Immunology. They represent approximately 15 departments — including Biology, Microbiology, Medicine, Pathology, Cell Developmental and Integrative Biology, and Genetics — and four schools (Medicine, Optometry, Dentistry, and Public Health). These faculty participate in undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral training related to Immunology. They also teach medical, dental, and optometry students at UAB.

Immunology faculty at UAB are dedicated to working with trainees at all levels and many mentor highly motivated undergraduate students who desire to gain research experience in a variety of research laboratory settings where they can be engaged in pursuing important questions in immunology. Be sure to read through the Mentor Directory to find out more about program faculty and the types of research questions that their laboratories are actively pursuing.

Highlights of UAB's Immunology Programs

  • Immunology and infectious diseases research at UAB is supported by $182 million dollars of federally sponsored research funding (as of January 2017).
  • UAB has a strong Infectious Diseases presence that includes investigators studying bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic pathogenesis. These investigators include members of the UAB Center for AIDS Research and the School of Medicine's Division of Infectious Diseases.
  • UAB's O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center promotes cutting-edge research in cancer immunology.
  • Acknowledging the important role that Immunology research has in driving the success of UAB, the School of Medicine created the Inflammation, Infection, and Immunity (I3) area of excellence. I3 impacts almost all diseases studied and treated at UAB. I3 integrates the expertise and resources at UAB to build unified, interdisciplinary programs in inflammation- and immunity-based fundamental and clinical research.