About the Department

The mission of the Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology (MMI) is to provide instruction, conduct research, and offer consultation in those areas of microbiology and immunology that bear on human disease.

MMI's instructional program is one of the most diverse and active in the Medical School. The Department presents the primary infection and immunity course in the medical student curriculum and offers one of the nation's only medical school-based undergraduate majors. Graduate students are served by our M.S. degree program and by our co-sponsorship of and active participation in the campus-wide Microbiology Doctoral Training Program. The success of our instructional efforts is evident in the consistently excellent student course evaluations and ratings, the continuing popularity of our undergraduate major, the numerous teaching awards garnered by our faculty, and the doctoral training program's ranking of first among all U.S. public institutions and third overall.

Research underway in the Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology involves basic work on human pathogens and diseases including malaria, sleeping sickness, Lyme disease, HIV/AIDS, cancer, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Toxoplasma gondii, influenza virus, Dengue virus, astrovirus, histoplasmosis, botulism, and herpes.  Additionally, faculty members conduct immunology research that involves T cells biology, macrophage activation and complement biology.  We have recently developed strong areas of research in symbiotic relationships between bacteria and animals, and bioterrorism.  Since the Department's establishment in 1935, its faculty have made fundamental contributions to the study of infectious disease, mammalian host defenses, and immune system responses. Our current faculty demographics show a healthy mix of well-established, recognized leaders in the field, a very productive group of mid-level faculty, and a new group of junior faculty who are poised to step to the fore and represent us well into the next century.

Department faculty also take a leading role in cross campus research initiatives. One example is the Microbial Pathogenesis & Host Responses Group (MPHRG). Led by MMI Associate Professor Jon Woods, the MPHRG involves more than 50 UW-Madison faculty investigators from 17 departments, across 3 colleges. Regular meetings are held at which investigators discuss the latest in research findings and share ideas in an informal, collegial environment. These sessions are supplemented by listserver discussion groups and MPHRG-hosted seminars presented by invited speakers from the top labs in the world.