ID Research Training Program (PhD & Postdoc)
UVA Infectious Diseases Graduate Training Program
PhD Program
Prospective students should apply for admission through the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Studies apply-now site.
Alison Criss Laboratory Reveals How ‘Super Gonorrhea’ Resists in the Human Immune System
The NIH/NIAID-supported Infectious Diseases Training Program at UVA provides a rich interdisciplinary experience in cutting-edge infectious disease research. Research themes include immunology, host susceptibility to infection, epidemiology, host-pathogen interactions, and pathogenesis of infectious diseases. The centerpiece of our program is side-by-side education of predoctoral students, PhD, and MD postdoctoral fellows. Program faculty are drawn from 8 departments and two research centers at UVA School of Medicine. The average preceptor has trained more than ten pre- or postdoctoral students; some junior faculty are also available as preceptors. Our faculty are well-funded from both federal and private sources, providing students with excellent financial and technological research support. Labs are equipped with sophisticated instrumentation that enables advanced experimentation.
PhD Program
Prospective students should apply for admission through the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Studies apply-now site.
PhD Program
The Predoctoral Infectious Diseases Training Program provides experience in interdisciplinary infectious diseases research, which supplements the basic degree requirements and goals of related degree-granting departments at UVA. For more information, contact Alison Criss.
Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Postdocs are applied for through individual faculty members. If you are interested in working in a specific research laboratory, contact the PI for that lab; you can obtain the faculty member’s email address from their online UVA profile.
For information on programs, resources and career development opportunities at UVA for post-doctoral fellows, please click here.
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Sayo McCowin
Recipient of NIH F30
Fellowship “Polymorphisms link protein
kinase c-α to Cryptosporidia susceptibility
in 1st year of life”
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Amaris Cardenas
Recipient of NIH F31 Individual Predoctoral Fellowship
Amaris is investigating how variations in lipooligosaccharide composition of Neisseria gonorrhoeae allow the bacteria to evade killing by neutrophils of the innate immune system.
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Erin Weddle
Recipient of NIH F31
an Individual Predoctoral Fellowship.
Erin is studying cellular and molecular mechanisms that mediate vacuole escape and intracellular spreading during Shigella flexneri infection.
Students in the Infectious Diseases Training Program work with their mentor and graduate advisor to develop an individualized program of study.
Required Courses:
- MICR 8400 – Molecular Principles of Bacteriology & Virology
- MICR 8401 – Microbial Pathogenesis
- AND/OR MICR 8410 – Advanced Topics in Virology
- MICR 8402 – Microbial Pathogenesis Proposal Preparation
- BIMS 7100 – Research Ethics
Highly Recommended Courses
- MICR 8200 – Building Blocks of the Immune System
- MICR 8202 – Integration and Diversification of the Immune System
- MICR 8341 – Biological Threats and Public Health
- BIMS 8382 – Introduction to Biomedical Science
- BIMS 8380 – Basics of Study Design and Practical Statistics
Coinciding with formal coursework, students are given the opportunity to develop oral presentation skills by participating in bi-weekly Research-in-Progress seminars, monthly Translational Journal Club, and our annual ID Research Day. Students also attend and help host our bi-weekly Seminar Series to expand their cutting-edge knowledge directly from speakers at the top of their respective fields.