# Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis Training Program

> **NIH NIH T32** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $364,704

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
This proposal is a request for continued funding of an institutional pre- and postdoctoral NRSA Training
Program in Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis at the medical school of Northwestern University which
has been funded since 1996. Predoctoral training will be done in conjunction with the Driskill Graduate
Program (DGP). The DGP will be the mechanism for recruitment of a pool of highly qualified graduate students
from which candidates will be selected. The training program is also supported by the Northwestern Office for
Postdoctoral Affairs and Immunobiology Center. The training program, unique among the training programs at
Northwestern, will stress the basic mechanisms and interactive nature of immunology, microbiology, and
pathogenesis and the collaboration of colleagues. The program includes 40 highly productive researchers
experienced in pre- and postdoctoral training who collectively hold >30 million dollars per year in research
funding and who can impart both basic and clinical perspectives to a group of outstanding trainees. The result
will be a more productive research environment, both for the pre- and postdoctoral students and for the many
projects funded by grants from the NIH and other federal and private agencies. A major research-in-progress
event, IMP Day, will highlight before the entire community the accomplishments of the trainees. Feedback
received at this event will be another way of enhancing the experience of our trainees. The training grant also
proposes to foster trainee interactions with scientists at other institutions through trainee travel to national
meetings (to present their research and to develop contacts) and through visits of prominent scientists to
Northwestern as trainee-invited speakers. The training program also serves to focus the activities at the
University aimed at educating students in the ethics of science and at recruiting underrepresented minorities to
studies in immunology, microbiology, and molecular pathogenesis. There will be continuous evaluation of the
program using multiple mechanisms, including evaluations by the trainees, the tracking of the productivity,
funding support, and career development of former trainees, and Internal Training Grants Directors'
Committee, and an External Advisory Committee that consists of leaders from outside the institution. The
program requests maintaining the current four predoctoral and two postdoctoral slots. Predoctoral students will
be appointed for a 2-year period at the end of the second year of graduate studies after they have completed
their coursework and qualifying exams and have identified a research advisor, while postdoctoral candidates
will be appointed at the outset of their training for a 1-year period while they apply for independent funding.
Refunding of the program will give training in immunology, microbiology, and molecular pathogenesis at
Northwestern the continuity required to maintain the momentum gained ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10884308
- **Project number:** 5T32AI007476-27
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Edward Benjamin Thorp
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $364,704
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1996-09-01 → 2028-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10884308

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10884308, Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis Training Program (5T32AI007476-27). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10884308. Licensed CC0.

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