Research in Microbiology and Infectious Disease Study Program

Catalog description

Program Director: Steve Taylor, MD. The Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology Program (MIDIP) Study Program provides students with the opportunity to explore laboratory-based and clinical research in infectious diseases and immunology. For example, MIDIP will appeal to students interested in the public health initiatives of vaccine design, mechanisms of autoimmunity, or the management of infectious diseases. Knowledge of infectious diseases and immunology is central to the effective management of disease in a vast array of public health and clinical settings. Duke University faculty members include world leaders in the study of microbiology and immunology, many with a strong tradition of outstanding mentorship for third year medical students. The MIDIP research experience can be focused on one of a wide variety of important clinical problems: Aberrations of immune system development can be studied using animal models of primary or acquired immunodeficiency syndromes. Diseases of chronic inflammation and autoimmunity highlight the damaging effects of exaggerated or inappropriate immune responses and can be examined through research focused on the pathogenesis of diseases such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Modulation of normal immune responses is also critical to the management of solid organ and bone marrow transplantation and is becoming increasingly important in the treatment of cancer. Faculty mentors at Duke also have outstanding research programs studying the molecular mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis in bacterial, fungal, and viral and parasitological systems. Microbial genetics can be exploited to investigate fundamental processes in genetics and molecular biology. The development of novel chemotherapies for microbial infections, particularly of prevalent or emerging infections, remains a high priority for public health. The student may…