Overview
The Division of Immunobiology has both research and educational goals within the Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation with some faculty also having clinical responsibilities. The mission of the division is threefold:
- to build an internationally recognized research program in immunology within the Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation;
- to foster and strengthen collaborations within the immunology community and to provide expertise in utilization of immunological research approaches for both research and clinical investigators at Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation and the University of Cincinnati as a whole; and
- to build a premiere graduate training program in immunobiology within the School of Medicine.
To this end, the broad research aims of the division are directed towards understanding the cellular, molecular and genetic mechanisms that drive immunologically-mediated disorders in children. The long-term goals will be to apply molecular technologies to the elucidation of disease mechanisms, and to the development of novel therapies for immunologically-mediated diseases which afflict children.
The Division of Immunobiology currently consists of five primary faculty, Marsha Wills-Karp, the division director, Leighton Grimes, David Hildeman, Michael Jordan, Monica Chiaramonte, and three associate members, Drs. Fred Finkelman, Richard Strait, and Amy Nathan.
Faculty members within our division study various aspects of the immune response as it relates to human disease. In addition to running their own productive research programs, the members of our division are committed to providing expertise in immunological research and techniques to the wider community in the Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation. To this end, we provide a research home for several faculty and trainees from clinical divisions. Secondly, we provide technical expertise to numerous groups through joint research collaborations, as well as through providing the Cytokine/Mediator Assessment Core. Thirdly, we provide educational opportunities in immunological research on several levels including:
- being the administrative home of the Immunobiology Graduate Program;
- coordinating multiple immunologically-based research conferences;
- participating in other graduate educational programs around the campus such as in the MD/PhD program and the Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program (separate entry); and
- providing research training opportunities for post-doctoral fellows, clinical fellows and junior faculty in our own division as well as from many others within Cincinnati Children's.
Several members of our faculty also have clinical responsibilities including: Drs. Jordan, Strait, Nathan, and Finkelman.
