Seminars and Other Gatherings

The Department of Immunobiology organizes two separate seminar series and a variety of other events to encourage the exchange of ideas and recent results. Each lab holds weekly group meetings to discuss current results, and weekly "journal club" meetings to discuss recent articles of interest. The Department of Immunobiology provides a series of excellent forums for the dissemination of ideas and data: a weekly "Research in Progress" seminar series allows graduate students and postdocs to present their latest data to the entire department for critical appraisal and feedback (which provides important experience in public speaking), and a weekly seminar series brings in immunologists from around the world to present their research to the department (graduate students and postdocs in the department invite and host several of these speakers each year, including taking them to dinner). Other departments at Yale (Genetics, Cell Biology, Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Biology) also hold easily accessible weekly seminars which are often of immediate interest.

The Department of Immunobiology also holds a yearly two day retreat, which provides an exceptional opportunity for communication of ideas and results and the development of a sense of community among the members of the Section. The retreat includes faculty presentations but heavily emphasizes informal workshops, organized and chaired by graduate students and postdocs, in which these trainees can present and discuss recent data.