Immunobiology

Interim Director: Robert Schreiber, PhD

Associate Division Co-Chiefs: Marco Colonna, MD, and Kenneth Murphy, MD, PhD

The Division of Immunobiology is a consolidated unit within the Department of Pathology & Immunology committed to cutting edge, leading research in basic immunology.

The division was established in 2006 in recognition of the long and distinguished history of immunology research in our department. With its 14 basic science laboratories, including 4 led by members of the National Academy of Sciences and one Howard Hughes Medical Investigator, the division is internationally recognized for its key discoveries in immunology.

Learn more about the history of the division.

It also serves the backbone of the Immunology Graduate Training Program in the School of Medicine, working closely with faculty in the Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine and others at the university to promote superior education and training for future scientists. Current trainees include over 40 post-doctoral fellows and 100 graduate students.

Research: From bench to bedsides

Research in the division covers a wide variety of topics within immunology and integrates closely with the Division of Laboratory Genomics and Medicine to broaden its scope and community. In addition, Robert Schreiber, PhD in our division is Director of the Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs (CHiiPs), which seeks to translate immunology research from the bench to the bedside, illustrating the importance of immunology research in our programs.

Learn more about research in the division.

Outstanding core facilities

Our Flow Cytometry and Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) Core facility offers a multi-parameter analysis of rare cell populations, as well as two high-speed cell sorters. Our Hybridoma Center has a long history of generating high-quality hamster and mouse monoclonal antibodies for clients inside and outside of the institution. Furthermore, for over 20 years, our Transgenic, Knockout and Microinjection Core facility has an outstanding track record for generating genetically engineered animals at the highest levels.

Our Structural Biology Core brings together instrumentation and services for the structural biology community from all over the School of Medicine. The division supports a metabolic analysis core facility, operating 96-well and 24-well Seahorse instruments to measure oxygen consumption and extracellular acidification in culture. The division also supports imaging research with a state-of-the-art two-photon microscope maintained and operated by Bernd Zinselmeyer, PhD.

Elsewhere in the university, a wide variety of core facilities are available and include cores for embryonic stem cell transfection and culture, microarray analysis, NextGen sequencing (genome, exome, target capture, RNASeq, CHIPSeq), imaging, proteomics, and viral vectors.

Many other services offered by specialized core facilities are run by the Siteman Cancer Center, the Diabetes Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Cores Center, the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders and the O’Brien Kidney Disease Research Center.

Learn more about all of the department’s core facilities.

Exceptional training

Graduate training at Washington University is coordinated by the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences (DBBS), which includes 12 different training programs. Students in the Division of Immunobiology are affiliated with a variety of different graduate programs including:

The Immunology program is directed by Gwen Randolph, PhD. Support for graduate student education comes from NIH training grants. Applications for graduate studies should be directed to DBBS.

Prospective students interested in more information about graduate training should visit the DBBS program websites.

There are usually opportunities for post-doctoral training in many of the individual laboratories. Three different NIH training grants support post-doctoral training for eligible candidates. Please contact the Principal Investigator directly about post-doctoral training opportunities.

Learn more about all of the department’s training opportunities.

Division contact information

Kelly Antolik
Administrative Professional
Phone: 314-362-9103
Fax: 314-747-0809
Email: kellyantolik@wustl.edu

Mailing address:
Division of Immunobiology
Department of Pathology and Immunology
660 South Euclid Avenue
Campus Box 8118
St. Louis, MO 63110

Street address:
BJC Institute of Health (BJCIH) Building
425 South Euclid Avenue
8th floor, Room 8606
St. Louis, MO 63110

Locations

The Division of Immunobiology at Washington University is housed in two locations:

Clinical Sciences Research Building

The Division of Immunobiology occupies laboratory space on the 7th and 8th floors. The main CSRB building was constructed in the mid-1980’s while the North Tower Addition was constructed in the late 1990’s. Laboratories in the CSRB include: Virgin, Murphy, Fremont, Bhattacharya, and Egawa. The structural biology core is located on the 7th floor.

The BJC Institute of Health

This building was completed in early 2010. Immunobiology occupies laboratory space on the 8th floor. Laboratories in the BJCIH include: Randolph, Colonna, Vig, Schreiber, Allen, Klechevsky, Unanue, Aryomov, Choi and Edelson. The flow cytometry, metabolic, and micro-injection core facilities are also located on the 8th floor, as is the department’s two-photon microscope.