Letter to Prospective Students
We are very pleased that you are considering our department for PhD training. The Department of Microbiology and Immunology has a very strong commitment to graduate education as evidenced by the number and performance of our PhD graduates and the presence of an NIH-funded training grant in immunology and pathogenesis.
In-depth courses in bacteriology, virology, immunology, biochemistry and molecular biology are combined with laboratory training to provide a well-rounded education for each student.
Opportunities are available for laboratory training in the cellular and molecular of bacterial and viral pathogenesis and immunology. This emphasis is also reflected in a predoctoral training grant in Immunology and Pathogenesis that was awarded to the Department by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Current projects involve exciting studies on viral vaccine vectors and adjuvants, host-pathogen interactions, T lymphocyte activation and apoptosis, respiratory immunity, neutrophil biology and biochemistry, the molecular basis for bacterial and viral diseases, and viruses used for cancer therapy. Finally, we have developed a new research program in biodefense that involves a number of faculty within the Department. This program is focused on the development of novel adjuvants and vaccine vectors for protection against agents of bio-terrorism and was awarded a 5-year NIH program project grant for $9.2 million.
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology has excellent research facilities including state of the art equipment for flow cytometry, cell sorting and high resolution, wide-field multimode fluorescent microscopy. In addition, core laboratories for protein sequencing and synthesis, oligonucleotide synthesis, flow cytometry, tissue culture, GC/mass spectroscopy, NMR, confocal laser microscopy, time-lapse microscopy and tumor cell procurement are available through the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University and the Molecular Genetics Program. Scientific collaboration between laboratories is a major contributing factor to the success of our graduate program.
The application for admission to Wake Forest University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences as well as more information on graduate programs at Wake Forest University can be found at the Graduate School Application page.
We sincerely look forward to having the opportunity to consider your application to our graduate program. If you would like to receive more information about graduate training in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, we encourage you to contact Dr. David Ornelles, the Graduate Program Recruitment Director (ornelles@wakehealth.edu).