# Molecular Microbiology Training Grant

> **NIH NIH T32** · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $368,225

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW), one of the premier academic medical
centers in the world, requests continued support for a graduate and post-graduate Molecular Microbiology
Training Program (MMTP) that has existed for 25 years. This MMTP supports five predoctoral students and
two postdoctoral fellows for two-year training periods each. A particularly attractive feature of this highly
successful training program has been its departure from conventional "program-" or "departmental-based"
training to an interdisciplinary program that maintains a strong microbiology orientation while, at the same time,
broadens the scope of the training mission to include many other aspects of molecular and cell biology. The
highly diverse backgrounds of the 31 trainers, comprised of a core group of highly accomplished established
investigators and an expanding, impressive new faculty, embody interdisciplinary research programs bound by
the common theme of molecular and cellular microbiology. The training faculty are from nine different
departments (Microbiology, Immunology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Pharmacology, Biochemistry,
Internal Medicine, Dermatology, and Pediatrics). The MMTP serves as a primary focus for formal interactions
among this overlapping group of talented trainers who have strong records of accomplishment in research and
training. Our goal is to train students and fellows for research careers in the general areas of the molecular
basis of microbial pathogenesis, cellular microbiology, host defense mechanisms, regulation of virulence
expression, pathogen adaptation, drug development, structural biology, and many other related areas. The
research interests of the majority of the faculty include bacterial and viral pathogenesis, innate and adaptive
immune mechanisms, antimicrobial drug design, RNA metabolism, bacterial secretion systems, microbial
physiology, viral evolution, and structural biology (as it pertains to microbial pathogenesis). There is a strong
emphasis on molecular mechanisms, molecular biology, and the application of the most contemporary
methods in molecular technologies, all of which provide the thread that unites and integrates the diverse
research areas. Trainees who complete this program are expected to be able to apply state-of-the-art
molecular approaches towards important problems in the microbiological sciences and for the improvement of
preventive and/or therapeutic intervention strategies for infectious diseases. There is solid evidence of major
successes for this training program over the past funding interval.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10918435
- **Project number:** 2T32AI007520-26
- **Recipient organization:** UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Julie K Pfeiffer
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $368,225
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 1997-09-30 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10918435

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10918435, Molecular Microbiology Training Grant (2T32AI007520-26). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10918435. Licensed CC0.

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