Immunology at the University of Rochester

Excerpt

Immunology at the University of Rochester Medical Center is concentrated in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, but it has long been an interdepartmental program with faculty in both basic science and clinical departments and centers throughout the medical center. This program dates back many decades with several pivotal points at which strong scientists were recruited that strengthened the already existing research and training efforts. One of these points was the recruitment in the early 1970s of Drs John Kappler and Philippa Marrack, whose research acumen was already evident. In addition, new units of clinical immunology and infectious diseases were created in the Department of Medicine and basic and clinical researchers were hired. During this time, Dr David Smith and his colleagues in the Department of Pediatrics developed the vaccine against Hemophilus influenzae type B, which was remarkably successful and has virtually eliminated meningitis. In 1980, in a joint effort between the Department of Microbiology and the Cancer Center, Dr David Scott was appointed Dean’s Professor of Immunology and ushered in a long-standing collaboration between these two administrative groups. Dr Scott recruited an additional four researchers with expertise in both T and B cell immunology. In recognition of the growing strength in immunology, the department name was changed to the Department of Microbiology & Immunology and an Immunology Track within the Department was formally approved. The 1990s brought additional changes as Dr Ignacio Sanz, a molecular immunologist interested in human immunoglobulin gene rearrangements was recruited to head the Clinical Immunology/Rheumatology Unit of the Department of Medicine. He established a strong group that continues to thrive and has led to the establishment and funding of an Autoimmunity Center of Excellence, which is an interdisciplinary group of investigators led by Dr Sanz. During this era, another major advance was made by Dr Robert Rose, then a Ph.D. student in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology and his mentors in the Department of Medicine as they developed the human papillomavirus (HPV)16 virus-like particle that led to a vaccine against cervical cancer. In 1999, another major change for immunology research and training occurred with the establishment of the David W. Smith Center in Vaccine Biology and Immunology and the recruitment of Dr Tim Mosmann to head this new center and continue the tradition of vaccine development at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He was able to quickly hire a diverse group of both young and established investigators that have added greatly to the intellectual environment of the immunology community. Dr Mosmann also established a Human Immunology Center, which brings together basic and clinical researchers and assists in developing expertise in new techniques to support research in human immunology and vaccine development. …