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Overview
The UCSF Immunology Graduate Program is a component of both the Biomedical Sciences (BMS) Program and the Program in Biological Sciences (PIBS). Currently, students interested in the Immunology Program are admitted into the BMS program and elect to follow the Immunology Track at the end of the first year. First year BMS students pursue coursework with an emphasis on mammalian cells and tissues, including the immune system. Modern approaches for understanding the molecular mechanisms of cell, organ, and immune system function are studied as are integrative approaches toward defining the physiological in vivo importance of these mechanisms. We believe that this coursework will provide an excellent knowledge base for graduate students with a strong interest in immunology and related fields such as infectious disease. In addition, first year students do three research “rotations” in different BMS/Immunology laboratories to learn experimental approaches hands-on and to aid them in choosing a thesis laboratory and project. For students who elect the Immunology Track, the Immunology Program provides continuing advanced training in current developments of immunology and in other aspects of modern molecular and cellular biology via a weekly immunology student/faculty journal club, an annual immunology retreat, a yearly advanced topics seminar course, and a weekly seminar series by outstanding immunologists from around the U.S. and occasionally overseas.
In addition to the above courses and activities, our connection with PIBS provides our students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty with close interactions with scientists studying cell biology, genetics, biochemistry and molecular biology, developmental biology, biophysics, and neuroscience. As these fields are highly relevant to modern study of immunology, these connections enhance the education of students in the Immunology Program.
The application deadline for fall 2010 admission is December 4, 2009.
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Application Process
Admission Requirements • Financial Support
Program Plan
Summer Research Training Program (SRTP) • Course Curriculum • Required Courses • Optional Courses • Research • Journal Club • Seminars & Workshops • Teaching • Student Evaluation
Admissions Requirements
The following courses are prerequisites for admission to the program: general chemistry, zoology or biology, calculus, and biochemistry. Students deficient in some of these prerequisites may make them up either before admission or during the first year of study in the program. Also considered in the admissions process are GRE scores, letters of recommendation and, if possible, personal interviews (some of the leading candidates will be invited to come for an interview). All students who apply must take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test. A subject test is not required, but we strongly encourage it. For applicants who choose to take the subject test, the choice of subject is up to you, but most applicants typically choose Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Biology, Chemistry or Physics. Foreign students must take the TOEFL exam and achieve a score of 560 or greater to be considered further. Evidence of exposure to scientific research, generally at least as summer participation in a research laboratory, is regarded as an important attribute of the successful application.
Financial Support
Students admitted to the Immunology Program are assured a full stipend, in addition to student fees, and non-resident tuition fees when applicable. Students are expected to become California residents as soon as possible. Every applicant should apply for a Graduate Division Fellowship on the form enclosed in the application packet. Students receive continued support provided they are making satisfactory progress. It is expected that students will complete their graduate work in about five years of full-time study.
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Summer Research Training Program (SRTP)
Laboratories in the Immunology program actively participate in the UCSF Summer Research Training Program. This is a 9-week program designed to give undergraduate students the opportunity to conduct research projects in UCSF laboratories.
More information about the program can be found at http://student.ucsf.edu/summerprogram/
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Program Plan
The program for graduate students consists of the following:
1. Theoretical training by formal course work in molecular and cellular immunology, tissue and organ biology, biochemistry, genetics and cellular biology.
2. An introduction to research through rotations in at least three faculty laboratories.
3. The selection of an advisor for research training leading to a Ph.D. thesis
4. Seminars given by visiting scientists
5. A journal club in which students present and analyze published research, as well as their own progress
6. An oral qualifying examination, which is taken at the end of the second year or early in the third year
7. An annual immunology program conference, where the research progress of each laboratory is discussed
8. Thesis research leading to a written thesisThe first year is devoted mainly to course work and laboratory rotations. In the second year, course work is decreased and the student's commitment to his/her own research increases. In the following years, the student is primarily engaged in full time research. It is anticipated that most students will complete their degree requirements in about 5 years.
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Course Curriculum
The Graduate Advisor checks the record of the beginning graduate student and advises a program of courses. Normally, six lecture courses (18 units) must be taken in the first year, including immunology, cell biology, and a two quarter BMS course on the cell and molecular biology of mammalian tissues. The normal course load per quarter for a first year student would be 2 courses and a laboratory rotation.
Required Courses
Microbiology and Immunology 204. Molecular and Cellular Immunology.
This is the core course for the immunology graduate program. Each of 18 lectures will introduce a different aspect of immunology at a level accessible to students from all programs. Additional weekly sessions will provide students with the opportunity to discuss selected landmark papers relevant to the week's lectures in greater depth. Topics to be covered include mechanisms of immunoglobulin rearrangements, cell biology of antigen presentation to T cells and of lymphocyte trafficking, antigen and cytokine receptor structure and signal transduction mechanisms, regulation of lymphocyte development and lymphocyte activation, mechanisms of cell-mediated killing of infected and neoplastic cells, whole organism immune response to infection, and diseases of the immune system, including allergy, autoimmunity, and AIDS.
Microbiology and Immunology 209. Advanced Topics in Immunology.
Discussion of selected areas in immunology. Topic varies from year to year.
Microbiology and Immunology 215. Laboratory Rotation.
Biomedical Sciences 225A/B. Tissue and Organ Biology.
This two-quarter course covers an introduction to the molecular, cellular and anatomical features of major mammalian tissues and organ systems. Featured topics include the immune response, inflammation and infection, as well as physiological organ function.
Biochemistry 245. Cell Biology.
Modern aspects of the biochemical basis of cell biology and development are examined with emphasis on spatial organization and morphogenesis.
Genetics 200A. Principles of Genetics.
A combination of lecture and student presentations. An in-depth analysis of genetic mechanisms in selected prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Topics include conjugation, transduction, transformation, mapping, meiotic and mitotic segregation allelism, and position effects.
BMS 265: Macromolecules
This course introduces graduate students to the basic biochemistry and analysis of proteins and nucleic acid, and is tailored directly to the thematic interests of BMS students. It covers amino acid and peptide chemistry, protein folding, protein structural analysis, enzymology, nucleic acid structure, protein nucleic acid interactions, proteomics, and structure/based drug design.
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Optional Courses
Biochemistry 200A. Structure of Macromolecules.
Fundamental principles governing the behavior of, and modern techniques for study of biological macromolecules.
Biochemistry 201. Biological Regulatory Mechanisms.
The discovery of principles forming the foundation of molecular biology and recent advances in rapidly developing areas of field. Topics covered are RNA transcription and processing, protein translation, DNA replication, control mechanisms and genome structure and organization.
Biochemistry 246. Developmental Biology.
Modern aspects of cell biology and development with emphasis on structure-function relationships and multicellular organization.
Microbiology 208. Molecular Biology of Animal Viruses.
The nature of viruses: dynamics of virus-cell interaction with emphasis on animal virus systems, control of expression of virus-specific information in lytic and temperate infection and role of viruses in malignant transformation of cells.
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Research
The graduate students select their research project in the area of one of the participating Immunology faculty or additional BMS faculty, generally at the end of the first year after completing three laboratory rotations.
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Journal Club
Schedule.
Each week, a faculty member, a postdoctoral fellow, or a student (under the sponsorship of a faculty member of his/her choice) presents a discussion of one or a few related articles published in research journals in the Immunology Journal Club. The article(s) should deal with research in molecular or cellular immunology, but more general topics in molecular or cell biology, genetics and evolution, and neurobiology are also welcome. Topics too close to one's own research specialty are not encouraged. After the fourth year, students have the option to give a research-in-progress talk.
This journal club is very well-attended and, together with the graduate course in Molecular and Cellular Immunology, forms the backbone of scientific exchange between faculty, students and postdoctoral fellows.
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Seminars and Seminar Workshops
The Immunology Program maintains a vigorous program of seminars by leading immunologists from outside UCSF to foster in-depth knowledge of the latest developments in immunology. The students and postdoctoral fellows also have the chance to meet with many of the most active researchers in the field, and, in doing so, also to establish scientific connections. All of the students and postdoctoral fellows are strongly encouraged to attend these seminars throughout their enrollment in the program.
1. Immunology Seminars
Scientists from outside UCSF present seminars once a week throughout the academic year. The trainees also benefit from seminar series in Biochemistry and in Biomedical Sciences.
2. Research Group Seminars
Each research group has a weekly discussion session in which members of the group present their experiments or discuss the latest literature pertinent to their own research. These sessions are informal but vigorous and critical, and are invaluable for getting suggestions for the research. They are also a rehearsal for more formal research seminars given to a larger audience.
3. Dissertation Seminars
The finishing student must present publicly his/her dissertation in a departmental seminar. These seminars are advertised to the entire campus, as well as to the local scientific community, and are usually well attended.
4. Immunology Program Conference
Each year, all the people participating in the Immunology Program have a conference. Principal investigators or members of his/her group give an overview of research in progress. In recent years, the Immunology conference has included the immunology group from UC Berkeley and has been held at the Granlibakken Conference Center in Lake Tahoe.
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Teaching
During one quarter of their second year, students assist in the teaching of immunology courses offered by the Department.
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Student Evaluation
At the end of the first and second year, the Graduate Curriculum Committee meets individually with each student to discuss his/her plans and progress. The student is also judged on his/her performance in the courses, journal and research presentations and laboratory research.
The student then has to pass a qualifying examination. This consists of an oral examination and submission of two research proposals. One of the proposals centers on the student's thesis research while the other involves an immunological problem outside of his/her own research. The proposals must demonstrate a command of the literature pertinent to the research areas and the experimental strategies suggested for solving the problems. Four faculty members, excluding the student’s research preceptor, perform the evaluation. After passing the qualifying examination, the student's progress is monitored by a Thesis Advisory Committee at least once a year. This committee includes the thesis advisor and two other faculty members of the student's choice. A student can request a meeting of the Advisory Committee at any time.
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