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The Immunology Program is an interdisciplinary interdepartmental program in Immunology, unlike many of the Spectrum programs which are housed within existing departments. This program was initially developed in 1987 and, since that time, has expanded to include 34 faculty members. It has trained 70 postdoctoral fellows and currently has 35 students pursuing PhD degrees. We believe that the increasing recognition of the importance of immunology as a field for both basic and clinical research and potential immunotherapeutic intervention, allows the recruitment of outstanding young immunologists. We believe that the current market for immunologists in both academia and industry remains strong. For these reasons, we believe that the Program provides an enormous opportunity for Spectrum members.
This retreat is one of our best and most intense interactive and learning experiences for young immunologists, and is used as a model at other academic institutions. During the two-and-a-half day meeting, the graduate students and postdoctoral fellows present primary unpublished data in a workshop format. Senior faculty serve only to moderate and lead discussions. This is an opportunity for corporate members to see first hand immunology research at Stanford, find out who are the important players, and meet the most promising students and fellows. Asilomar provides an excellent setting for company scientists to get to know faculty, fellows, and students in depth, and vice versa.
As shown by data contained in the table, the faculty in the Immunology Program are successful in founding biotechnology companies, serving on boards and consulting for industry. Many of the members of the Immunology faculty are frequently asked by the biotechnology and the industrial community to review business plans and ideas on an ad hoc basis. Each listed faculty member will participate in these consulting activities for up to 6 hours/year. The Program will provide senior faculty members to direct requests concerning review of business plans and/or scientific opportunities to faculty most appropriate to review such plans. Included is the opportunity for non-local companies to visit selected laboratories and meet with senior faculty by arrangement. To schedule the these meetings, please call the designated liaison for the Immunology Program.
One way we best serve the needs of the biotechnology community is to provide access, not only to individual scientists, but also to provide an informal, thematic, format in which current topics in Immunology are discussed. Breakfast sessions offered quarterly on selected topics or for individual companies provide an important opportunity for corporate members of Spectrum to receive advice and consultation from this group of distinguished faculty.
It is important for Spectrum members to have access to up-to-date information on the research base at Stanford, as well as the young scientists being trained within the Program in Immunology. To assist in this process, we provide preprints of all work currently accepted for publication. In addition, we provide semiannual curriculum vitaes of the senior fellows in the laboratories. This is a unique opportunity for the corporate members to tap tremendous talent and pre-publication information.
The Program has, over the past eight years, sponsored weekly seminar series in which invited speakers present the latest research in the field. Speakers are selected from the Stanford community as well as from top institutions from around the country. Past seminar topics have included: clinical applications of immunology; diagnostic vs therapeutic uses of antibodies, implications for X-linked SCID, and antigenic peptide interaction with class Iand II MHC molecules. This series provides an opportunity for Spectrum members to have a first-hand review of the science in the immunology field.
The Immunology Program, by virtue of its interdisciplinary nature, has several team-taught courses that can be attended by company scientists who wish to augment their research training in immunology. Spectrum members may attend entire classes over the academic quarter or may request a sylabus in order to select a particular topic presented over several lectures. Full course descriptions and syllabi can be obtained from the faculty liaison.
Courses include:
Featuring current problems in immunology: genetics and structure-function relationships of antibodies, T-cell receptors, MHC antigens; accessory molecules; lymphocyte differentiation and activation; cellular regulation of immune responses; autoimmunity and other problems in clinical immunology.
Critique and Commentary. Featuring current research in antigen presentation to T-lympho-cytes, focusing on genetics and function of the MHC complex. Critical review of journal articles, sysnthesis of knowledge of related fields, and directions for future research.