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Immunology

Contact | Courses | Faculty | Overview | Programs: Collaborative, Degree

Faculty Affiliation

Medicine

Degree Programs Offered

Immunology – MSc, PhD

Collaborative Programs

The following collaborative programs are available to students in participating degree programs as listed below:

1. Developmental Biology

  • Immunology, MSc, PhD

2. Women’s Health

  • Immunology, MSc, PhD

Overview

The Department of Immunology provides a common forum for investigators in many areas of the University and an interdisciplinary research experience in immunology. Members and students in the department are located at the Medical Sciences Building, at the Ontario Cancer Institute, and at the Research Institutes of Mt. Sinai Hospital, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, The Hospital for Sick Children, and Sunnybrook Hospital.

The department offers study programs towards the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in a wide range of immunological disciplines. These disciplines include molecular mechanisms of lymphocyte development and selection, T-cell and B-cell receptors, cell interactions, growth factor receptors, cytokine networks, antigen processing and presentation, signal transduction in lymphocytes, V(D)J recombination, anergy, apoptosis, transgenic and knock-out models, immuno-targeting and vaccine design, autoimmunity, AIDS, diabetes, and transplantation.

For more detailed information, see the graduate handbook available from the department or consult the Immunology home page on the Web site listed below.

Contact and Address

Web: www.immunology.utoronto.ca
E-mail: graduate.immunology@utoronto.ca
Telephone: (416) 978-6382
Fax: (416) 978-1938

Department of Immunology
University of Toronto
Room 5271, Medical Sciences Building
Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8
Canada

Degree Programs

Immunology 

Master of Science

Minimum Admission Requirements

  • Four-year B.Sc., or its equivalent, normally with at least a B+ average and a strong background in molecular and cellular biology. Applicants lacking adequate training in biological or natural sciences may be advised to do extra course work necessary for their research.
  • Applicants from outside North America are required to provide GRE (general) scores with their application.

Program Requirements 

  • Successful completion of IMM 1016H, IMM 1019H and IMM 2021H.
  • A satisfactory thesis embodying the student’s research.
  • Pass an oral examination based on research.

Normal Program Length

  • 6 sessions (full-time)

Doctor of Philosophy

Minimum Admission Requirements

There are three admission routes to the PhD program:

  • Applicants may be accepted for direct entry with a B.Sc. degree, or equivalent, with at least an A- average in their final year.
  • Applicants may be accepted first into the MSc program from a bachelor's program with at least a B+ average and, conditional on excellent performance in the first year, may reclassify into the PhD program.
  • Applicants already holding an MSc with at least a B+ average may be accepted directly into the PhD program.

Program Requirements 

  • The PhD program emphasizes research. In addition, the program requirements include completion of IMM 1016H, IMM 1017H, IMM 1100H, IMM 2100H, and an additional 0.5 full-course equivalent (FCE) from either Immunology or outside the department in a subject relevant to the thesis topic.
  • Students are required to be on campus and participating full-time until the program requirements of research and course work have been completed.
  • All students are examined in the second year of the program on a submitted research proposal and on relevant course material.
  • Candidates must submit a thesis and defend it at an oral examination conducted by the School of Graduate Studies.

Normal Program Length

  • 4 years (full-time PhD); 5 years (direct-entry PhD)

Course List

Not all courses are offered every year. Please consult the department for details.

IMM 1016H Recent Advances in Basic Immunology: Part I (Fall)
IMM 1017H+ Recent Advances in Basic Immunology: Part II (Spring)
IMM 1019Ho Master’s Seminar Course (Credit/No Credit)
IMM 1020H Recent Advances in Clinical Immunology (Spring)
IMM 1100Ho Doctoral Seminar Course (Credit/No Credit)
IMM 1429H Developmental Immunology (Fall)
IMM 1430H Advanced Immunobiology (Spring)
IMM 2021Ho Special Topics in Immunology I (Credit/No Credit)
IMM 2100Ho Special Topics in Immunology II (Credit/No Credit)
IMM 1428H Molecular Immunology (Fall)

o Courses which may continue over a program. The course is graded when completed.
+Extended course. For academic reasons, course work is extended into session following academic session in which course is offered.

Graduate Faculty

Full Members

Anderson, Michele - BS, PhD
Barber, Brian - BSc, MSc, PhD
Berger, Stuart - BSc, MSc, PhD (Coordinator of Graduate Studies)
Berinstein, Neil - MD
Booth, James - BSc, PhD
Carlyle, James - PhD
Danska, Jayne - AB, PhD
Dosch, Hans - MD
Fish, Eleanor - BSc, MPH, PhD
Gommerman, Jennifer - BSc, PhD
Gorczynski, Reginald - BSc, BA, MA, MD, PhD
Guidos, Cynthia - BSc, PhD
Hakem, Razqallah - PhD
Inman, Robert - BA, MD
Iscove, Norman - MD, PhD
Isenman, David - BSc, BSc, PhD
Jongstra, Jan - MSc, PhD
Julius, Michael - BSc, PhD
Kelvin, David - MASc, PhD
Letarte, Michelle - BSc, PhD
Levy, Gary - BSc, MD
MacDonald, Kelly - MD
Mak, Tak - BSc, MSc, PhD
Martin, Alberto - BSc, MSc, PhD
Ohashi, Pam - BSc, PhD
Ostrowski, Mario - MD
Paige, Christopher - BSc, PhD
Penninger, Josef - MD
Poussier, Philippe - MD
Ratcliffe, Michael – PhD (Chair & Graduate Chair)
Roifman, Chaim - MD
Rottapel, Robert - BA, MD
Rubin, Laurence - MD
Schuh, Andre - MD
Silverman, Earl - MD
Siminovitch, Katherine - MD
Tsui, Florence - BSc, MSc, PhD
Watts, Tania - BSc, PhD
Williams, David - BSc, MSc, PhD
Wither, Joan - MD, PhD
Wu, Gillian - BSc, MSc, PhD
Yeung, Rae - DrMed, MD
Zhang, Li - MSc, MD, PhD
Zuniga-Pflucker, Juan Carlos - BSc, PhD

Members Emeriti

Hay, John - BSc, MSc, PhD
Painter, Robert - BSc, PhD
Shulman, Marc - AB, PhD

Associate Members

Dunn, Shannon - BSc, MSc, PhD
Jongstra-Bilen, Jenny - BSc, MSc, PhD
Keystone, Edward - BSc, MD
Philpott, Dana - BS, PhD
Rast, Jonathan - MS, PhD 

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