The University-Wide Center

The Immune system is absolutely essential to normal health and function and plays an intimate role in virtually all disease processes. Because of this pervasive influence, investigation of the immune response is essential to many disciplines within the biological and biomedical sciences, and faculty with research programs in immunology are found in numerous University departments. The Center for Immunology was established in 1995 as a University-wide multidisciplinary center to coordinate and promote efforts in basic immunology research, education and clinical applications at the University of Minnesota.

The Basic Immunology Program

Immunology is both a discipline and a focus of multidisciplinary research efforts ranging from basic investigations to clinical applications. The Center houses the Basic Immunology Program, a multi-departmental group of investigators who are involved in immunology education, and whose research is focused primarily at a basic level. Many of the investigators collaborate in translational studies, but their research primarily addresses fundamental questions of immune response mechanisms. Maintaining a strong core of basic immunology is essential to the educational , research and clinical missions of the Medical School and University. In the absence of a department-based immunology program, the Basic Immunology Program of the Center serves as the home for the discipline of immunology at the University of Minnesota.