Why Michigan?

Founded in 1902 as the Department of Bacteriology, The University of Michigan’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology is one of the oldest and most respected in the world. Throughout its history, the Department has been at the cutting edge of infectious disease research: first in the era of infectious agent discovery, later as a leader in the molecular biology revolution, and most recently in our commitment to research in microbial pathogenesis. If you peruse our faculty research web pages, you will see that the Department includes researchers who study the basic biology of immune responses, the molecular interactions between pathogens and their host cells, animal models for fungal, viral, and bacterial infection, and mathematical models of disease processes. To name just a few of our research areas, we study urinary tract infections, HIV, herpes, and cholera. Training future scientists has always been a priority in our department. Microbiology and Immunology is home to the interdepartmental NIH-sponsored Microbial Mechanisms of Molecular Pathogenesis (MMMP) training program. MMMP provides funding, educational and training opportunities for American trainees in infectious disease. The international students selected by our steering committee for the MIDIS program will join this effective and highly ranked training program as adjunct members, to receive some of the finest biomedical training available in the world today. In turn, the MIDIS scholars serve the University of Michigan scientific community by contributing to the cultural diversity of the institution and by giving us the opportunity to do good by doing something we do well: namely, train outstanding biomedical scientists.