department of Microbiology and Immunology

Research Programs

Molecular and Cellular Immunology

Molecular and Biochemical Microbiology

Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic Molecular Genetics and Physiology

Research Facilities

Molecular, cellular and genetic techniques are being utilized to advance our understanding of microbiology and immunology. The research programs of the Department are well funded by peer-reviewed grants, including 20 grants from the National Institutes of Health and several grants from industry or foundations, with departmental faculty as principal investigators. Furthermore, the faculty of the Department participates and receives support for their research from a number of additional NIH grants, with faculty members of other departments of the School of Medicine as principal investigators. There are extensive collaborations within the Department with other faculty in the School of Medicine, the University, and with colleagues at other national and international institutions. These extensive interdepartmental collaborations and multi-disciplinary programs have increased the breadth of the potential research projects available to graduate students. The graduate faculty maintains close ties with clinical departments and sections, including the Departments of Surgery and Gynecology and Sections of Cardiology, Infectious Diseases, Oncology and Pulmonary Medicine.

Current active research areas include the following:

• Molecular and cellular immunology of T and B lymphocytes
• Molecular aspects of macrophage physiology
• Signal transduction in immune cells
• Immune response to neoplasia
• Dendritic cell biology
• Cellular and molecular analysis of the role of opioid receptors in the function of cells of the immune system and cannabinoid
• Microbial immunity
• T cell apoptosis and immune deviation

Researchers include: 

Marion Chan

Toby Eisenstein

Stefania Gallucci

Doina Ganea

Liselotte Jensen

Marc Monestier

Tomasz Skorski

Alexander Tsygankov

 

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• Quorum sensing and stationary phase survival
• Cytokinesis in bacteria
• Virulence factors and microbial pathogenesis
• Host-pathogen interactions
• Molecular biology of DNA and RNA viruses, including Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Epstein-Barr Virus

Researchers include:

Bettina Buttaro

Toby Eisenstein

Earl Henderson

Patrick Piggot

Kenneth Soprano

Alexander Tsygankov

Çagla Tükel, PhD

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• Molecular genetics of cell division and sporulation in Bacillus
• Peptide signaling pathways in Streptococci and Enterococci
• Cellular and viral oncogenes and their role in cell growth and transformation
• Cell division and DNA repair
• Molecular modeling and protein structure/function relationships
• Molecular genetics of the immune response

Researchers include:

Bettina Buttaro

Earl Henderson

Marc Monestier

Patrick Piggot

Tomasz Skorski

Kenneth Soprano

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The Department of Microbiology and Immunology occupies approximately 30,000 square feet. The program is housed in state-of-the-art facilities. The Department has BSL1, BSL2 and BSL3 laboratories for research. Instrumentation that is available for training and research use include:

• Liquid-scintillation and gamma spectrometers
• Confocal and fluorescent microscopes
• Infrared, ultraviolet, and visible spectrophotometers
• Phosphoimager
• High-speed centrifuges and ultracentrifuges
• Laminar-flow hoods
• Cold and warm rooms
• Computers for data analysis
• Facilities for image analysis
• Flow Cytometer
• Nanodrop Spectrophotometer
• Real-Time RT-PCR machines
• Coloimetric, fluorescence, luminescence plate ready
• Licor gel imager Odyssey
• Electrophoresis equipment
• Chromatographs, including HPLC, FPLC, and GLC

Available facilities at the School of Medicine include:

• Flow Cytometry Core Facility
• Proteomics Core Facility
• Confocal Microscopy Facility
• Viral Vector Core Facility
• Biostatistics Consulting Center
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center
• Transgenic mouse facility

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Contact Information:

Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Medicine Education and Research Building

Room 1159

Philadelphia, PA  19140

T: 215-707-3203

F: 215-707-7788