The UAB Program in Immunology

The Program in Immunology has been created to enhance the wide distribution of immunology-related research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  This trans-departmental program seeks to enhance communication among faculty in order to identify and stimulate additional synergies across campus.

UAB Immunology Strategic Planning Group Initiative 2007

Over 100 UAB faculty identify themselves as basic or clinical immunologists.  This group comprises a major portion of the total UAB research portfolio.  With over $73M in FY 2004, UAB ranks #3 nationally in grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the two NIH funding agencies most focused on host defense, immunology, and inflammation research.  This represents 35% of the entire NIH research portfolio at UAB.

UAB is the home of several internationally prominent research programs.  These include the highly respected Developmental Immunology program, the Mucosal Immunology program, the Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology Division, the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Center, and the Virology and Vaccine Biology Program. 

• The Developmental Immunology Program has included a basic research program in B cell development and functions together with investigations of primary B and T cell immunodeficiency with in the Alabama population.

• The Mucosal Immunology program includes a tradition of over 25 years of basic investigation uncovering key basic mechanisms in mucosal immunology, and strong translational and clinical research programs on HIV and other vaccines, inflammatory bowel disease, and IgA nephropathy.

• The Arthritis, Autoimmunity, and Rheumatic Diseases Programs have nationally recognized basic research efforts studying the role of death receptors and immunoglobulin Fc receptors as immunoregulatory signals, for investigation of genetic susceptibility to autoimmune disease, and for a very strong translational and clinical research program that utilizes the UAB GCRC and more than a decade of experience in large-scale clinical trials using immunomodulatory drugs.

• The Virology and Vaccine Biology Program, coordinated through the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and Departments of Microbiology, Medicine, and Pediatrics, has been recognized as a leading basic virology research program nationally.  With its broad local and international clinical and translational research programs that include HIV vaccine development and testing, it has led to the UAB CFAR being recognized as one of the elite AIDS research centers internationally.

Newer programs  in Cancer Immunology, Allergy, Immunogenetics, Inflammation and Tissue Injury, Transplantation Immunology, Neuroimmunology, and basic immunology of the T cell and innate systems are poised to become highly competitive with thoughtful recruitment.

UAB Immunology research also benefits from a solid infrastructure of core facilities (see "Research" link above).