Predoctoral Training Program

The Immunology Training Program supports predoctoral students who matriculate at UVA through either the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program (BIMS) or the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) (MD-PhD dual degree). The Program also supports students who enter the PhD programs in Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering directly.

BIMS is an umbrella admissions portal for PhD-seeking students that feeds into 9 departments and interdisciplinary degree-granting entities in the UVA School of Medicine, and supports them financially in their 1st year. Trainees complete laboratory research rotations and identify their research interests, and apply to the Program after they have selected a faculty mentor and made a verifiable commitment to immunology research. They complete their thesis research under the guidance of this mentor, augmented by a Research Advisory Committee composed of additional faculty with expertise in the student’s chosen area.

Students in the MSTP take a pre-clerkship curriculum for medical students in the first year and most of the second, and enter graduate school and a PhD-granting department in mid-February after having chosen a faculty mentor. MSTP students perform 3 research rotations in the summers in the absence of concurrent coursework. MSTP students typically apply to the Immunology Training Program in Grad year 2, and complete their thesis work as outlined above for BIMS students.