Activities, Interactions, and Additional Training

At the heart of the Department of Immunobiology is the principle that close cooperation and collaboration between investigators with diverse expertise and interests is the essential foundation for excellence in education and scientific research. A friendly, supportive environment, open discussion, shared resources, and multi-lab training are fundamental parts of the fabric of the research endeavor in Immunology at Yale. This has contributed heavily to the research achievements of the faculty and to the success of the program. Opportunities for interactions among the graduate students and between the graduate students and faculty include:

• Collaborative research. Many graduate students engage in collaborative research projects involving two or more Immunology laboratories. The concrete evidence for this is the more than 60 joint publications that have resulted from these collaborations in the last five years alone.
• Student Advisory Committees. Each graduate student has an advisory committee consisting of four to five faculty members who meet every six months with the student to evaluate his/her progress and offer advice on research planned or in progress.
• Joint lab, program, and project meetings are extensive, reflecting the close interactions of the groups.
• Departmental seminars. The Department of Immunobiology sponsors a well attended seminar series held each Thursday at 11AM. The series covers all areas of Immunology and the speakers include many of the most prominent Immunologists from around the world.
• Research in Progress (RIP) Seminar Series. This weekly seminar series (Fridays at 4PM) is an integral part of our graduate program. Every graduate student, beginning in their second year of the program, and almost every postdoc, speaks in this series each year. RIP is an important forum in which trainees can obtain feedback from the members of the department and learn about one another's research.
• Departmental Retreat. Each year, the Department of Immunobiology holds a two-day retreat at the Marine Biological Laboratories in Woods Hole, MA. All members of all laboratories are expected to attend. The retreat features talks by faculty and an extended poster session which generates a great deal of discussion and interaction. The retreat is an important forum that brings together virtually all Immunologists at Yale.
• The Graduate Student Research Symposium (GSRS) is a full day symposium which offers graduate students an opportunity to present their research to their peers and to learn about the wide range of research being performed by graduate students at Yale. Graduate students organize all aspects of the symposium, including selecting the speakers, determining all aspects of the schedule, and fundraising.
• BBS Fellows and Graduate School resources. Two senior graduate students from each BBS department are BBS Fellows. An additional International Fellow and a Minority Fellow are also designated. Fellows help with the integration of first and second-year students into the Yale community through meetings and informal gatherings arranged each semester to talk over issues and to share information. The Dean of the Graduate School, Jon Butler, works actively to bring together students in all disciplines as part of our intellectual community. Graduate students are kept informed of the diversity of seminars and events and of upcoming deadlines by the YGS Newsletter, published by the Graduate School. The Graduate School publishes a Fellowship Guide each year and distributes it to graduate students in all the disciplines.
• The McDougal Graduate School Center is a multi-faceted facility designed to enrich graduate student life socially, intellectually, culturally, and professionally. Particularly important components are its Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, its extensive career services, and the Graduate Teaching Center.