Johns Hopkins University has established a Planning Committee for Immunology, a first step toward creating a new interdivisional entity to advance research in the field.
Immunology is a branch of biology focused on the study of the immune system, including its structure and function, disorders, immunization, and organ transplantation. Johns Hopkins has long been a leader and trailblazer in the field—when William Henry Welch established the university's School of Public Health in 1916, the new school included America's first independent department of immunology. Known today as the W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, the department now hosts a PhD program and two master's programs. The School of Medicine has also offered PhDs in Immunology since 1982, and the field has been a key research area for faculty across the institution, especially those in biomedical engineering and chemical and biomolecular engineering.
"This effort aims to shape the future of immunology at Johns Hopkins," said JHU Provost Ray Jayawardhana, who convened the committee in consultation with the deans of Medicine, Public Health, Engineering, and Arts and Sciences. "Our goal is not merely to build on past successes, but to unlock the full ambition of our community to seize new opportunities for breakthrough discovery and impactful innovation, thus redefining what's possible."
The committee is co-chaired by Bloomberg Distinguished Professors Arturo Casadevall and Erika Pearce, who say this initiative will help the university better recruit and retain top researchers, enhance graduate education, and obtain more research grants.
"While there are many prominent faculty doing cutting-edge immunology research across the university, there is a lack of formal structure that brings these researchers together into a cohesive group," explained Pearce, who also serves as co-director of the university's Immunology Cancer Program. "The purpose of the planning committee is to provide a broad and comprehensive assessment of immunology research at Johns Hopkins, as well across other leading institutions in the U.S."
Added Casadevall: "Once we get a glimpse of the immunological universe at the university, the next task will be to see what organization would work best. Whatever is done will have to be transdivisional and may require a new mechanism beyond institutes or departments."
Committee members include:
Arturo Casadevall, Co-chair, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Alfred & Jill Sommer Professor and Chair, Molecular Microbiology & Immunology (BSPH); Department of Medicine (SOM)
Erika Pearce, Co-chair, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Department of Oncology (SOM); Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BSPH), Co-Director, Immunology Cancer Program
Nicole Baumgarth, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Peetz Family Professor, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology (BSPH); Infectious Diseases/Medicine (SOM), Director, Lyme and Tickborne Diseases Research and Education Institute
Daniela Cihakova, Professor of Pathology (SOM); joint appointment Molecular Microbiology and Immunology (BSPH), Director of Immune Disorders Laboratory and Director of the WHO collaborating center at the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Elizabeth Jaffee, Dana and Albert "Cubby" Broccoli Professor of Oncology and Deputy Director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center (SOM)
Rachel Karchin, William R. Brody Faculty Scholar, Professor, Institute for Computational Medicine, Department of Biomedical Engineering (WSE); Department of Oncology (SOM), Department of Computer Science (WSE)
Maximilian Konig, Assistant Professor, Division of Rheumatology (SOM), Director of the Cellular Therapy Program (Autoimmunity)
Rejji Kuruvilla, Professor of Biology and Vice Dean for Natural Sciences (KSAS)
Joel Pomerantz, Associate Professor of Biological Chemistry (SOM)
Jamie Spangler, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering (WSE), Oncology (SOM), Ophthalmology (SOM), and Molecular Microbiology & Immunology (BSPH)
