Microbial Pathogenesis and Host Response Group
Faculty in MMI and other departments with research interests in microbes in health and disease have a long history of inter-lab interactions, co-mentoring graduate students, co-directing courses, co-hosting invited speakers, co-organizing meetings, and informally sharing reagents and reviewing each other’s manuscripts and grants. In 1998, the PI (Klein) was a founding member of the “Interlab Pathogenic Fungus Group” which holds monthly meetings at which alternating labs present research results and receive feedback from other labs; presenters have included graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty members. In 2000, the Microbial Pathogenesis and Host Response Group (MPHRG) was initiated and modeled on the pathogenic fungus group, but designed to be a much larger interactive research forum. This group, organized through MMI, includes more than 50 UW-Madison faculty from 17 departments across 4 colleges. MPHRG research programs focus on a range of bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and viral pathogens, symbiosis, and immunology and host responses. The group also includes a number of clinical investigators from the Divisions of Infectious Diseases in Medicine and Pediatrics. The MPHRG website lists and provides links to relevant undergraduate and graduate courses offered by MMI and also several other departments on campus. There is also a job postings bulletin board on the website, focused on postdoctoral opportunities; this site has become popular, with numerous requests for postings from around UW-Madison and nationally. Regular MPHRG research meetings are held at which labs alternate in presenting their results and receiving feedback from members of the community. Additionally, there is an MPHRG list-serve for announcement of campus events, seminars, and local or outside meetings, and discussion of topics related to the field among interested parties on campus.
For more information regarding the Microbial Pathogenesis and Host Response Group, please see their website at http://www.mphrg.wisc.edu/.
Symbiosis Cluster
The Symbiosis Cluster was established in 2004 and its members represent ~70 researchers from more than 20 labs in 5 colleges. Six of the 9 faculty on the Symbiosis Cluster Steering Committee are trainers in this Training Program. A website is hosted by CALS and maintained by a Cluster administrator who coordinates the regular research meetings and distributes a weekly newsletter with information about job openings, publications from campus symbiosis researchers, funding opportunities, and other information pertinent to graduate and post-doctoral fellows. The Symbiosis Cluster has spearheaded the development of a graduate-level course in Symbiosis, as well as a Symbiosis Symposium (SymSym). The latter was organized by a committee of Symbiosis graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.
For more information regarding the Microbial Pathogenesis and Host Response Group, please see their website at http://www.cals.wisc.edu/Symbiosis.
In the last funding period, MPHRG served as a major training tool that provided cohesion and identity to this Training Program. An understanding of the role of beneficial microbes, fostered by the Symbiosis cluster, will now be integrated with MPHRG under the broader umbrella of Microbes in Health and Disease. Thus the MPHRG and the Symbiosis Cluster together provide a unique, expanded venue for the training of students and postdoctoral fellows unprecedented nationally in its combined strength.
