The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine is developing a new pre-doctoral training program in
translational immunology. We have assembled a group of 22 researchers that have highly active, well-funded,
and collaborative research programs to support state-of-the-art training in diverse topics related to translational
immunology. All mentors have active research programs in immunology related to autoimmunity, cancer, or
infectious diseases, major themes of this training grant. These Ph.D. and physician/scientist mentors are
distributed across disciplines and Departments at the School of Medicine, reflecting the wide applicability of
immunology throughout medicine, and are highly committed to training the next generation of scientists. This
training program seeks to fill many gaps in current graduate programs that do not adequately train individuals
to move research from bench to bedside. The Translational Immunology Training Program aims to enhance
the trainees' research experience by providing them with skills and experiences to advance the health
applications of their current and future research. Each trainee will perform research in a laboratory focusing on
one of the three themes of the program. To complement the intensive bench research, key unique elements of
the Translational Immunology Training Program are to expose the trainees to clinical medicine, to promote
interactions with clinicians, and to understand the health needs of patients with immune-related conditions.
This program is designed to provide each student with skills that will enhance their ability to pursue careers in
research/education that are directly geared at improving the health of patients with immune-related diseases or
other conditions that might benefit by immunotherapy. We recruit excellent and diverse students through our
Programs in Biomedical Sciences, a first-year umbrella program for our biomedical Ph.D. programs, where
most students are eligible to participate in a T32 sponsored training award. Thus, this proposed training grant
will provide dedicated funding for highly qualified students in translational Immunology, an area of strategic
importance to our School of Medicine and NIAID.