Established in 1935, MMI is a core of both the Microbiology Doctoral Training Program (MDTP) and Microbial Pathogenesis & Host Responses Group (MPHRG), and provides administrative support for the training program. It consists of 15 faculty members, with a mix of senior, mid-level, and junior investigators: 9 full professors, 2 associate professors, and 4 assistant professors. All of the faculty have active research programs focusing on a range of bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and viral pathogens and immunology and host responses. The MMI faculty’s productivity and research prominence are demonstrated by service on numerous scientific journal editorial boards, federal study sections, and private foundation grant review panels, as well as by organizational roles in scientific meetings and courses. Eleven of the faculty members are funded by NIH R01 or equivalent grants, several by more than one grant. These faculty members are all trainers in the MPath Training Program. Several of these trainers have also received prestigious awards from private funding agencies, including a Pew Fellowship (Welch), one Scholar (Klein) and two Junior Investigator (Bangs, Woods) awards from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and a Lucille P. Markey Scholar Award (Woods). One additional assistant professor is included as an affiliate in the training program based upon their great potential but relatively junior status. Both have non-NIH funding, including a prestigious Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award (Knoll), and both already have graduate students. Their achievement of trainer status awaits further development of federal funding and training experience. Currently 27 graduate students are training in MMI laboratories, 23 under the direction of proposed training program trainers or affiliates. MMI faculty frequently also co-mentor students by serving on thesis committees for students of other faculty members. In addition to this research training, MMI faculty are committed to didactic teaching. Of the many graduate-level didactic courses offered by the department, five with particular relevance to the proposed training program, are all taught by trainers:
- MMI 720, Topics in Immunology directed by Dr. Paulnock
- MMI 740, Mechanisms of Microbial Pathogenesis directed by Dr. Dillard
- MMI 750, Parasite-Host Interactions in Vertebrate Viral Disease directed by Dr. Brandt
- MMI 773, Eukaryotic Microbial Pathogenesis codirected by Drs. Bangs and Woods
- MMI 790, Immunology of Infectious Disease directed by Dr. Mansfield.
These courses are part of academic tracks that MPath Trainees must follow. MMI also offers a journal club course (MMI 900) and a student research seminar course (MMI 901), each of which has been co-directed by two program trainers (Dillard and Knoll); both courses are requirements for all trainees in the program.
For more information regarding the Medical Microbiology & Immunology Department, please see their website at http://www.medmicro.wisc.edu/.
