Vision

Advancing the process of discovery in microbial infectious diseases and immunology requires a diverse faculty engaged in cutting edge research across a range of research areas.  This goal also requires interaction and collaboration with clinicians and clinician-scientists.  We encourage and support this interactive model with a unique approach to student training:  MS students in our Institute have two mentors, a basic scientist and a clinician.  This collaborative arrangement results in a basic or translational research program for the student focusesdon cutting edge clinical questions.  We further nurture this interactive model with a yearly retreat and Institute seminars given by nationally recognized scientists on topics of interest to the Institute.

students collaborating

Faculty

InDIRI faculty include basic scientists and clinicians, drawn from departments, institutes and research centers across the Stritch School of Medicine campus of Loyola University Chicago. The majority of our faculty are in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine. 

Graduate Program

Students in the two-year Master’s of Science in Infectious Disease and Immunology program will engage in a rigorous classroom-based curriculum and carry out a cutting edge research project under the direction of two faculty mentors. Our program inculcates scholarship as well as strong practical training.  Students take most courses along with other basic science graduate students. These courses emphasize a rigorous foundation in the basics of molecular and cellular biology, as well as more specialized topics in microbial infectious disease and immunology. In addition, students take courses in statistics, ethics and public speaking. Along with these basic science courses, our students also take selected courses with our medical students at the Stritch School of Medicine. These include didactic classroom lectures in which the students are immersed in the medical student curriculum and attendance in Infectious Disease Grand Rounds which will expose students to clinical cases in the real world.  

Our program prepares students for an advanced career in health-related fields including medicine, nursing, clinical laboratory science, biotechnology, translational research, forensic medicine, pharmaceutical research and product development, as well as other careers with emphasis on science such as science writing or health care policy.