Immunobiology

Chief: Kodi Ravichandran, PhD

The Division of Immunobiology is one of four units within the Department of Pathology & Immunology, and is 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 14 basic science laboratories, including four members of the National Academy of Sciences, the division is internationally recognized for its key discoveries in immunology. 

Learn more about the history of the immunological discoveries at Washington University School of Medicine. 

Immunobiology also serves as 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 other immunologists at the university to promote superior education and training for future scientists. Current trainees include over 40 post-doctoral fellows and 100 graduate students. 

Come Work with Us

We are currently looking to add an Assistant Professor to our faculty. If you would be interested in joining the Immunobiology division of Pathology & Immunology at Washington University please click here for the details.

Research: From bench to bedsides

Research in the Immunobiology division covers a wide variety of topics within immunology and integrates closely with the Division of Laboratory Genomics and Medicine, and Anatomic and Molecular Pathology 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, including spectral sorters and analyzers. 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 and is performing numerous CRISPR and AAV based knockin and knockout of genes on a routine basis. Our Hybridoma Center has a long history of generating high-quality hamster and mouse monoclonal antibodies for clients inside and outside of the institution.  

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, and also supports imaging research. 

Elsewhere in the university, a wide variety of core facilities are available and include cores for imaging, bioinformatics, embryonic stem cell transfection and culture, microarray analysis, NextGen sequencing (genome, exome, target capture, RNASeq, CHIPSeq), 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 opportunities for post-doctoral training in essentially all 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. Laboratories in the CSRB include those headed by: Drs. Ken Murphy, Daved Fremont, Gwen Randolph, and Takeshi 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 those headed by Drs. Marco Colonna, Bob Schreiber, Robert Schreiber, Steve Van Dyken, Kyunghee Choi, Eynav Klechevsky, Xiaoxiao Wan, Max Artyomov, Emil Unanue, and Kodi Ravichandran. The flow cytometry, metabolic, and micro-injection core facilities are also located on the 8th floor.