The program here at Yale is one of the most welcoming and scientifically rich environments I have ever been a part of. I am continuously impressed with how the students, faculty, and administrators have all come together to provide support as I transitioned into graduate school this past year. Specifically, the weekly seminars both in Human Translational Immunology and in the Immunobiology department broadly, the happy hours, and the endless department sponsored opportunities to meet with older students have really provided me an incredibly scientific network beyond my expectations. The Immunology Track faculty are constantly engaging in conversations with us as students and prove, through every interaction, how dedicated they are to the professional and scientific development of us, as graduate students. As I navigated the decision of picking a lab I felt very comfortable reaching out to students and faculty I had never interacted with previously to get their opinions and advice, and those conversations inspired confidence in my ultimate lab decision. I am excited to continue learning and exploring immunology through Yale’s Immunobiology department as I believe it is an incredibly diverse and scientifically stimulating environment to perform research.
Immunology
The Immunology Track is designed to prepare PhD students for independent careers as leaders in immunology and related disciplines. The educational program emphasizes interdisciplinary training and collaborative and interactive research, an approach based on the idea that solving difficult problems requires the integration of individuals with common goals but differing expertise. Graduate students are diverse in their interests and backgrounds, and a welcoming culture that fosters diversity, equity, inclusion, creativity, and camaraderie is a top priority. Students in the track are typically supported by training grants (TG) with curricula that further foster learning and career development, with the Immunology TG and Human and Translational Immunology (HTI) TG being the main programs, but others such as the Cancer Biology Training Program (CBTP) also support students in the track. The curriculum and research opportunities are substantially broadened by the recent establishment of the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII; directed by Akiko Iwasaki) and Center for Systems and Engineering Immunology (CSEI; directed by John Tsang), based within the Department of Immunology, as well as by the Human and Translational Immunology Program with participating laboratories from across the medical school.