Community Engagement

In early 2017, a group of trainees in the department of Immunobiology, Zuri Sullivan, Justin Shyer, Saige Pompura, Esther Florsheim and Naomi Philip, founded the Immunobiology Working Group.

The mission of the Immunobiology Working Group on Community Engagement (IWGCE) is to build a welcoming and engaged community both within the department and with the community. We work to ensure that all members of the department are treated with the utmost respect and are supported to create an exceptionally collegial environment. This collaborative environment fosters high-quality research and success of its members. Members contribute to recruiting and retaining excellent trainees. We also have a major outreach program for students in the community to inspire and educate them on the immune system and STEM opportunities.

We currently have seven subcommittees listed below with more details on each subcommittee under the heading IWGCE Subcommittees.

• Outreach subcommittee: To develop initiatives to engage with high school and undergraduate students to educate them on the immune system and career opportunities in STEM as well as engage with teaching and mentoring practices within the department.
• Trainee Transition subcommittee: To facilitate the transition of first-year graduate students by providing a graduate student and faculty member as “buddies”
• Postdoc/Social subcommittee: To enhance the sense of belonging and promote networking among graduate students and postdocs
• Executive subcommittee: To promote communication through town halls, newsletters, speakers as well as supporting mentoring with workshops and trainee mentoring awards.
• Well-Being subcommittee: To promote the wellbeing of members of our community
• Engagement subcommittee: To create community and engagement in a large department.
• Equity subcommittee: Organize journal clubs and discussions during the academic year to foster conversations between department members on the culture of science and how to create a supportive and engaged culture whereby all members thrive.