Immunology Graduate Program

The Immunology Graduate Program (ImmGP) is an inter-departmental program within the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Cincinnati Children’s that offers PhD and MS degrees in immunology. The program is managed by director Ian Lewkowich, PhD, and a steering committee composed of members of several departments / divisions at Cincinnati Children's and UC. Jonathan Katz, PhD, is the director of the MS program. Notably, the ImmGP is partially supported through an NIH T32 training grant, “Pathogenesis and therapeutic targeting of Immune disorders”.

Our Vision

Our vision is to be a leader in immunology graduate education, to provide outstanding research training in immunology and to train the next generation of leaders in the field of immunology.

To realize this vision, we strive to compete for the best students, to provide them with rigorous, extensive training, and to maintain outstanding, well-funded faculty that are committed to graduate education.

To accomplish this vision, we provide broadly based instruction in immunology, along with rigorous research training that emphasizes cutting-edge approaches to understanding the function of the immune system in health and disease.

To this end, the program currently has 55 faculty members from five UC departments and 12 Cincinnati Children's divisions. We currently have 43 outstanding students (nine MD / PhD, 28 PhD students and six MS students) from around the country and abroad.

This academic year we celebrated the graduation of four PhD students and six MS students. Our students have distinguished themselves this year by receiving several travel and research awards. Our students published 35 papers over the past year.

The program is supported financially by a variety of sources. This year, tuition support was provided through University Graduate Scholarships awarded by UC. Student stipends were supported through a variety of sources including funds from an NIH T32 training grant, UC, NIH NRSA grants, external grants to training faculty, and funds from Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation.

International Research Training Group

In spring 2013, the ImmGP established an International Research Training Group (IRTG) with the University of Lübeck / Research Center Borstel in Lübeck, Germany. Largely due to the dedication and stellar research programs of the faculty here at Cincinnati Children's and at the University of Lübeck / Research Center Borstel, this international grant was renewed after an on-site review in Lubeck in 2016. The next cycle of students was accepted in 2017.

The research focus of the IRTG is:

1. Humoral and Cellular Pathways of Allergic Inflammation
2. Immuno-regulation of infection-driven inflammation

ImmGP students interested in research projects encompassed by these areas may have the opportunity to study and perform research in the beautiful city of Lübeck in north-central Germany for a three to six month period.

The Impact of the Pandemic

Although the SARS-CoV2 pandemic continues to present unique challenges to multiple aspects of the program, we are making every effort to minimize the impact on student training. Virtual platforms were used exclusively for coursework, journal clubs and seminars throughout the year. Despite the challenges of learning in a virtual environment, our students maintained the same levels of success we are accustomed to expect.

The pandemic also resulted in the cancellation of many scientific conferences, but our students were still able to participate in a number of virtual scientific meetings. Moreover, our annual retreat was held in a virtual format, providing students an opportunity to present their own research findings and learn about the diverse research interests of our varied faculty.

The pandemic also impacted our recruitment process as we were no longer able to bring in applicants on site. However, our current students went out of their way to ensure that the virtual visits went off without a hitch: showcasing the program and the institution admirably well. Special thanks to student recruitment representatives Annie Song and Pablo Alarcon for all they did, and director of admissions, Andy Herr, PhD, for managing the process.

We are excited that the pandemic did not affect the number of quality application we received. From these we were able to recruit 11 top-notch applicants to the PhD track (including four MSTP students) and four excellent candidates to the MS track. Although we are all hopeful that in-person options will become available as the year progresses, we are confident in our ability to continue our mission of training the next generation of leaders in immunology in the current pandemic climate.

A Time of Transition

It was also a year of transitions. Dave Hildeman, PhD, stepped down as director of the ImmGP (becoming associate director of the ImmGP), Herr stepped down as admissions director and Katz stepped down as the coordinator of our graduate level course, Foundations in Immunology.

These positions are ably filled by Lewkowich as the new director, Senad Divanovic, PhD, as admissions director, and Joseph Qualls, PhD, as Foundations in Immunology coordinator. Nonetheless sincere thanks are extended to Hildeman, Herr and Katz for all they have done to contribute to the development and success of the ImmGP program.

Doctoral Students

Students in bold graduated with their PhD.

MS Students

Student Awards

Adriene Wilburn 2016

• Qualified and competed in the University of Cincinnati Three Minute Thesis (2021)
• University of Cincinnati Graduate School Government (GSG) Research Fellowship, $1200 (2020)

Ayad Ali 2017

• Presidential Medal of Graduate Student Excellence – UC Graduate School & the Office of the President (2021)
• Excellence in Graduate Mentorship Award – UC Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program (2020)

Jarren Oates 2017

• Gratitude Award, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine

Melanie McKell 2017

• University of Cincinnati Graduate Student Government – Research Fellowship (Feb. 2020), Funding includes $1200 towards research expenses.

Anastasiya Slaughter 2018

• Semi-Finalist  - 2021 Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) 

Annie (Baobao) Song 2018

• Gratitude Award, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine

Presentations

Melanie McKell 2017

• Future Fellows Research Conference, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN (June 2020 – Cancelled due to COVID-19) – Invited applicant for national graduate student poster symposia.

Rachel Cantrell 2018

• Thrombin Tips the Balance towards Effective Immune Checkpoint Inhibition Therapy. International Conference on Thrombosis and Hemostasis Issues in Cancer. Bergamo, Italy, 04/2021 Postponed due to COVID-19
• The role of the thrombin/PAR axis in the Anti-Tumor CD8+ T cell Response following Immune Checkpoint Inhibition Therapy. Oral presentation at International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis; s2021 July 20th; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Virtual Platform).
• Thrombin Tips the Scales towards Effective Immune Checkpoint Blockade in Cancer. Oral presentation at International Conference on Thrombosis and Hemostasis Issues in Cancer; 2021 April 25th; Bergamo, Italy (Virtual Platform).

Rebecca Crowther 2018

• Sharing is Caring: How Dendritic Cells Supply CD4+ T cells with L-arginine. American Association of Immunologists Annual Meeting, May 2021, Virtual Meeting.
• The Role of Vitamin C in the Treatment of Sepsis. Presentation of Research and Innovative Scholarly Endeavors (PRaISE) Conference, University of Cincinnati College of Allied Health Sciences, April 2021, Virtual Meeting.
• Sharing is Caring: How Dendritic Cells Supply CD4+ T cells with L-arginine. American Physician Scientist Association Annual Meeting, April 2021, Virtual Meeting.
• Macrophage L-arginine synthesis supports host defenses following Salmonella typhimurium infection. Forty-first Annual Graduate Student Research Forum, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, October 2020, Virtual Meeting.

Madeline Bonfield 2018

• “Investigating the Role of the Transcription Factor, PPAR-γ, in the Development and Long-term Persistence of Group 3 Innate Lymphoid Cells within the Neonatal Lung”, poster presentation at the Keystone Symposium – Innate Immunity: Mechanisms and Modulations, virtual due to COVID-19 travel restrictions

Annie (Baobao) Song 2018

• "Comprehensive Atlas of Mixed-lineage States",  International Society of Experimental Hematology, August, 2021, Narrated Poster

Tiffany Shi 2020

• Sequential Analysis of Renal Allograft Rejection at a Single Cell Resolution, American Transplant Congress, Poster
• Sequential Analysis of Renal Allograft Rejection at a Single Cell Resolution, Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies, Poster