Immunology Graduate Program

Ayad Ali
Montreal, Canada
Stephen Waggoner Lab

Research focus: Role of Natural Killer cells in disease pathogenesis (autoimmunity, infection & cancer)

Why study Immunology? The role that our immune system plays in different systems and organs within our body as well as its importance within those only seems to be expanding. I wouldn’t be surprised to find immunology becoming a new frontier in nearly all aspects of science and medicine. 

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program? The work that I’ve done, the people I’ve met and the personal development that both of those will have led to!

Rachel Cantrell
Cincinnati Ohio
Palumbo Lab

Research focus: Cancer Immunobiology

Why choose UC? The close relationship with UC and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital allows for a hospitable environment where many people and labs work together. These collaborations stem rigorous, cutting edge research that brings the scientific community forward.

Why study Immunology? There is nothing boring about Immunology! It’s a complex system that is continuously intriguing and interesting to study. Every finding has a potential implication in a related field and it’s so rewarding to uncover something new that may be translated into making patients’ lives better.

What is your favorite thing to do in Cincinnati? I love attending FC Cincinnati games! As a season ticket holder it’s a nice way to enjoy the weekends away from the lab. I couldn’t imagine a more enjoyable way to bond with the amazing people of our city and cheer on our team.

Tareian Cazares
Indianapolis, Indiana

Research focus: Computational Biology, Systems Immunology

Why study Immunology? Immunology is a rapidly expanding field that has relevance components in almost every disease that can afflict humans. Studying the field of Immunology will provide specific and also broadly applicable skill sets from many different fields that can be applied towards many post graduate careers. 

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program? I will remember the collaborative and close-knit feeling of the program. There is a sense of comradery and emphasis on building relationships that helps prepare students for the collaborative world of scientific research. 

Calvin Chan
McLean, Virgina 

Divanovic Lab

Research focus: Uncovering cellular and molecular immune mechanisms governing adipocyte biology in the development of obesity and pathogenesis of obesity-associated sequelae.

Why did you choose us?
Great facilities that house cutting-edge tools and a wonderful collaborative environment.

Why study Immunology?
Immunology arguably impacts nearly all fields of clinical medicine. This broad diversity provides exciting opportunities to interrogate very novel biology with direct clinical relevance. 

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program?

1) The collegiate nature amongst students and faculty
2) The robust support from the faculty and program

Awards or publications
T32 Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Targeting of Immune Disorders

Rebecca Crowther
West Deptford, NJ
Qualls Lab

Research focus: Role of CD4+ T cell L-arginine metabolism during mycobacterial infection.

Why choose UC? Cincinnati Children's has unparalleled resources, the Immunology Graduate Program has students and faculty that are always willing to help, and Cincinnati is a great city where there is always something to do.

Why study Immunology? Cells of the immune system are present throughout the human body and play a role in both homeostasis and pathology. Understanding how these cells function is clinically relevant and necessary for the discovery of novel therapeutic targets.

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program? How everyone is always willing to help if you ask for it. 

Dylan Naitraj David (“Raj”)
Richmond, VA
Marie-Dominique Filippi Lab

Research focus: Role of MAVS and Inflammasome in Bone Marrow Failure and MDS

Why choose UC? The research resources, here at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital (which is technically the Dept. of Pediatrics for UC Health/Hospital, and is heavily partnered with UC) receives an enormous amount of support, funding, and bolstering from the NIH, and that fact alone is a major reason why I chose UC.

In fact, during the year that I worked as a Post-bac Research Fellow at the NIH, I was afforded the exact same resources and equipment that I utilize now in my lab (in fact some of it is even better here at UC/Children’s)! That, and the sincerely collaborative nature of UC/Children’s, as a whole, is amazing and genuine. I have not yet met a PI that didn’t invite me into his or her office to discuss their research whenever I had a question relevant to their field of expertise. The camaraderie and support systems in place here are really designed to make sure that graduate students succeed—more so than most other institutions.

Why study Immunology? Immunology intersects with almost everything in biology. If something you study is biologically relevant in humans, then you will probably run into some immunology in your project or field of study. For instance, even though my lab is in the Cancer Biology Department, my project is very heavily focused in the inflammasome and the immune system’s role in the pathogenesis of MDS and other blood cancers and hematologic diseases. Training in this Immunology Graduate Program will allow me the ability to understand, and translate my research to, many other fields of study within biological science.

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program? My lab-mates. We always help each other out. If your day is going to be a 12-hour day, then you can count on one of your lab-mates to take care of your mice for other experiments, take care of your cells, and do your lab chores, while you run your protocols—and then have a drink with you afterwards. It’s truly a great cooperative environment that fosters the best kind of thinking and teamwork.

Awards or publications:

Publications:
Isaacs J, Patel G, Mallu S, Ugwu-Oju O, Desai A, Borschel G, David D, Protzuk O, Shah S, Semus R. Effect of Reverse End-to-Side (Supercharging) Neurotization in Long Processed Acellular Nerve Allograft in a Rat Model. The Journal of Hand Surgery. S0363-5023(17)31999-8.

Honors/Awards:
Provost Scholarship Award Recipient (2012)
Virginia Commonwealth University

• Covered the full cost of tuition, fees, and books for four years
• Selected as one of fifty Provost Scholarship recipients, in an entering class of 6,500 students, based on application, experience, and merit

Undergraduate Senior Research Thesis (August 2015 - May 2016)
Virginia Commonwealth University

• Awarded grade of “A” for completed senior research thesis titled “Isolation, Characterization, and Genomic Analysis of Bifidobacterium scardovii in the Vaginal Microbiome”

Corinne Foley
Silver Spring, Maryland 

Research Lab: Vivian Hwa / Andrew Dauber

Research focus: STAT5B Deficiency

Why study Immunology? 
The immune system controls many facets of the human body, and immune deficits cause great harm and often early fatality in patients. Understanding the function of this system has the potential to decrease mortality and morbidity in children and adults. 

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program? 
I’ll always remember the love and passion the faculty here have for their research and their patients, and their optimism and determination to improve the lives of children. 

Awards or publications
Yates Scholarship

Vaughn SE, Foley C, Lu X, et al. Lupus risk variants in the PXK locus alter B-cell receptor internalization. Frontiers in Genetics. 2014;5:450. doi:10.3389/fgene.2014.00450.

Wen Gao
China
Vivian Hwa Lab

Research focus: STAT5B deficiency with pulmonary disease

Why choose UC? The collaboration between the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s hospital creates a good research environment for students where we can share ideas with physicians and researchers easily.

Why study Immunology? Immunology is an important branch of the Medical Science.Studying immune system helps us to understand the defense mechanism in our body.Many diseases’ development involve immune system dysfunction.Therefore,a deep understanding of immune system contributes to solve problems in many areas,like cancer,autoimmune disease,inflammation and transplantation.

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program? Collaborative environments among different labs and departments. Friendly faculties and students.

Dr. Daniel Starczynowski Lab
Research focus: Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome

Why choose us? Because Cincinnati Children's is one of the top research institutions in the country, there is no shortage of opportunities to participate in cutting edge research.

What do you like best about your fellow classmates? Everyone is really helpful, collaborative, and nice.

What do you like about Cincinnati? I love that Cincinnati has a small town vibe with all the amenities of a major city.

Hannah Meibers 

I received my Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio and joined the Immunology graduate program at Cincinnati Children’s in 2018. My graduate work focuses on how IL-1b mediates the cross-talk between the innate and adaptive immune system during autoimmune inflammation. In a separate project, I am interested in identifying the molecular mechanisms by which VPS33b (vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 33b) regulates pattern recognition receptor signaling and mediates downstream production of type 1 IFNs.

Oscar Negrón
Puerto Rico
Matthew Flick Lab

Research focus: Fibrinogen in infectious disease

Why you choose us?  Cutting edge facilities and the opportunity to interact with highly experienced and well respected faculty was definitely one of the things that attracted me most to UC and our program. The city itself was also a place I knew I would enjoy living in. There’s a wide variety of events going on throughout the year and you get a big city feel without it being overwhelming.

Why study Immunology? Immunology give you a wide range of options in terms of research focus. Different labs focus on cancer, autoimmunity, infectious disease, etc. giving you a lot of opportunities to explore different topics of interest and find something you’re passionate about. 

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program? The collaborative nature of the program as well as the great friends I’ve made and the mentors I’ve been fortunate enough to interact with and learn from. 

Jarren Oates
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Senad Divanovic Lab

Research focus: Immunopathogenesis of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Why study Immunology? I chose to study Immunology because it’s such a broad field and encompasses so many other disciplines. There aren’t that many, if any other fields that Immunology can’t be applied to. It also allows me to broaden my horizons to so many other fields that I don’t think I would have been able to get in other programs.

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program? The thing that I will remember the most about our program is how the entire department is like one big family. From the PIs to lab mates to fellow students in the program I enjoyed the family like structure that our program has! Everyone is collaborative and wants to see you succeed as a scientist.

Hoebe Lab
Research focus: Gimap5-associated signaling pathways in T cells, B cells, and hematopoietic stem cells.

Why choose us? The program and faculty have a strong focus on developing students as researchers. At Cincinnati Children's we also have access to a large variety of different equipment and services that might be harder to get at other institutions.

Best thing you’ve discovered here: Some great coffee shops; Coffee Emporium is fantastic.

What do you like best about the program? The focus on research and student development

What do you like best about your fellow classmates? The casual community atmosphere. Everyone is willing to help one another out; other students will help you with everything from learning a new technique to proofreading posters, presentations, and proposals.

If you had to persuade a student to join this program what would be your top 3 most persuasive arguments be?

1. Access to large variety of facilities & services

2. The larger variety of research being done here at Cincinnati Children's / UC, and even just within the program

3. The collaborative and congenial research atmosphere

Steve Waggoner Lab
Research focus: NK cells and Autoimmune Disease 

Where are you from? Ebensburg, Pennsylvania

Why choose UC?  The University of Cincinnati boasts a beautiful campus, collaborative research environment, wide variety of research, top-notch facilities, and friendly colleagues, all set within a fun and affordable city.

Why study Immunology? Our body’s immune system has been intricately honed by evolution to fight and prevent a wide variety of infections and diseases. Studying immunology allows us to better understand how the immune system is so effective, allowing us to harness its power to repair the body when things go wrong.

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program? The useful advice from my fellow students.

Awards or publications: Lupus Foundation of America Gina M. Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship 2016

Tzu-Yu Shao
Way lab

Where are you from? Taiwan

Research focus? Commensal microbiota, mucosal immunology

Why choose UC?  outstanding faculty, broad research diversity, and abundant research facility resources

Why study Immunology? Immunology research is with high potential for translational application

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program? Good cooperation between labs and friendly people

Awards or publications: TY Shao, LH Hsu, CH Chien, BL Chiang. Novel Foxp3- IL-10- Regulatory T-cells Induced by B-Cells Alleviate Intestinal Inflammation in Vivo. Scientific Reports. September 2016.

Anastasiya Slaughter
Michigan
Daniel Lucas

Research focus: Hematology

Why choose UC? The University of Cincinnati has a unique partnership with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital that promotes a collaborative environment both between disciplines and patient clinics. 

Why study Immunology? Immunology allows for diversification due to its central role in regulating many organ functions and disease pathology. 

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program? A few weeks into classwork doubting my ability to memorize amino acids and then earning an A in the class by the end of the semester. 

Awards or publications:

• Bowers E, Slaughter A, Frenette PS, Kuick R, Pello OM, Lucas D. Nat Med. 2017 Nov 20. doi: 10.1038/nm.4448. 
• 2018 American Association of Immunologists - Young Investigator Award

Why choose us? – I chose this graduate program because the faculty and the students in the program are unique group of people that are passionate about research and learning. In addition to outstanding faculty and students, the program offers access to the wide variety of immunology research being done here at Cincinnati Children’s. 

Any surprises? – The summer rotation before the first semester helped facilitate a surprisingly painless transition from college to graduate school for me. It gave me time to get settled after moving to Ohio from Texas without the pressure of keeping up with classes in addition to my rotation. While the summer rotation is the perfect opportunity to focus exclusively on lab work, it is also an excellent opportunity to get to know the older students and the faculty in the program before classes got started.

What do you like about Cincinnati? – diverse array of affordable restaurants.

What do you like best about the program? – The summer rotation before starting the first year and availability of the faculty to students.

Why choose us?  My interview experience here in Cincinnati blew my others out of the water. It was clear that the program was rigorous but the grad students were happy and engaged in their research. I was also impressed with the research facilities at Children’s and the diversity of research projects overseen by the Immunology faculty.

Best thing you’ve discovered here?  Genuine people, excellent science, and top notch faculty.

Any surprises?  I heard a lot about Cincinnati being a safe, “family friendly” Midwestern city – which is absolutely true. But don’t let this translate as boring! There are a ton of young professionals that live in the area which makes for a fun, dynamic environment to live, work, and play.

What do you like best about the program?  The professors and students foster a supportive learning environment rather than a competitive one. It is possible to find a challenging program that is also accommodating and responsive to your needs and concerns.

What do you like best about your fellow classmates? They’re willing to go out of their way to help you out or give you advice. Most of us also have an appreciation for good food and caffeine, so it’s pretty easy to find at least one other person who wants to grab lunch or take a coffee break at any given time.

What do you like about Cincinnati?  It’s an affordable city with no shortage of great dining and entertainment options. I love checking out new restaurants, visiting/touring the plethora of microbreweries in the area, and going to Reds games in the summer.

If you had to persuade a student to join this program, what would your top 3 most persuasive arguments be? Genuine people, excellent research opportunities and facilities, and Cincinnati is a wonderful (and affordable!) place to live.

Nick Weaver
Spearman Lab
Cincinnati, OH

Research focus

HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein trafficking and viral assembly

Why choose UC? 

University of Cincinnati, combined with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, has world class medical and research facilities located in an ever growing and increasingly vibrant urban center that leaves little lacking for fulfillment in both work and social opportunities. There is a great potential for discovery in ones work with the breadth of dedicated faculty and students in many far reaching and overlapping fields of study as well as in life outside of work with abundant chances to engage in groups of diverse areas of interest around the city. 

Why study Immunology? 

Studying immunology gives you the opportunity to engage in almost any area of medicinal science because of the critical role the immune system inevitably plays in not only illness and disease, but also homeostasis and health maintenance. From cancer biology to infectious disease, pregnancy to transplant therapy, and allergy to vaccine development, knowledge of immune mechanisms will allow insights and openings into a vast array of potential research foci.     

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program?

The people here at Cincinnati – from faculty to post-docs to students and administrators – are really what makes the program so special. Every year we take an overnight retreat to discuss our work and also have some fun together as co-workers. During these weekends it is particularly evident how passionate everyone is about their work and how committed everyone is to seeing colleges succeed, always offering advice and friendship when it is needed. These are times that are certainly ones that will be remembered. 

Ben Weinhaus
Madison, Wisconsin
Rotational Student (Singh Lab & Grimes Lab)

Research focus: Adaptive Immunity, Hematology Oncology

Why study Immunology? To research and make an impact in translational medicine while developing an understanding of the body’s defense network. 

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program? The friends that I’ve made in a place that has become a second home.

Adrienne Wilburn
Boise, Idaho

Divanovic Lab 

Research focus: Pregnancy and obesity associated inflammation

Why choose us?  I’m a really big fan of the faculty in our program. There is a wide spread of personalities and expertise in many different areas of Immunology. It was very easy to find labs I was interested in rotating with and choosing a lab was very challenging because I had such a great experience in all three rotations. In addition to having awesome faculty the resources available to you are pretty extensive. I was impressed when I found out we have access to both the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and University of Cincinnati research cores. The labs are also very collaborative and many share resources amongst each other such as mouse lines, reagents, and equipment.

Why study Immunology? I think most people are surprised when they learn how many systems and physiological processes the immune system can impact. The inflammation produced by immune cells does so much more (both good and bad) besides killing infectious microbes. For example, your gut microbes and immune system share a very close relationship of regulating one and other. Plaque formation that leads to heart attacks is driven in part by immune cells. Pregnancy regulates and alters immune cell activity, protecting the fetus. Obesity can drive harmful inflammation that exacerbates other diseases. The list could go on and on. Suffice to say, getting a graduate degree in immunology will not limit you to only studying the immune system.

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program? The rigor of our first semester of classes, especially Foundations of Immunology. What I can say though is that it was worth it. Once I joined a lab I was able to quickly and confidently dive into the literature on my project’s topic. The bonds I formed with my classmates while we survived that class together will also be very memorable. While some of those study nights were long and went late into the night, many of them also had very memorable, hilarious conversations.

Awards or publications: N/A

Xiangfei Xie
China

Why choose UC?  State-of-the-art experimental facilities and exceptional faculty.

Why study Immunology? Immunology provides people with insights in answering both translational medicine and basic biology questions. Take the germinal center (GC) response for example. On one hand, a better understanding of GC response promotes the development of new vaccination strategies, on the other hand, antibody affinity maturation during GC response reflects the ‘survival of the fittest’ previously described by Charles Darwin, which helps us to illustrate evolutionary theory at a molecular level.

What will be the thing years from now that you’ll remember about the program? The program is based on a hospital environment, which enables me to see the aid of basic immunology research in helping the patients. Besides, students in the program are very nice, they help me a lot in adjusting to life in the United States.