The Department of Immunology has ongoing research programs in many aspects of immunology with an emphasis on understanding why immune responses are generally ineffective against malignant cells in cancer patients, directly coupled with efforts to therapeutically elicit more potent anti-tumor immunity.  This is being done through collaborative research programs that are grouped into 4 major areas of focus:

1. Identifying the molecular mechanisms by which tumor cells become resistant to immune recognition and killing;
2. Characterizing the molecular and cellular elements of the tumor microenvironment that influence tumor cell growth and immune control;
3. Designing of new strategies to enhance active specific immunotherapy; and
4. Translation of novel laboratory findings into investigator-initiated clinical trials.  

The specific research topics being investigated by the faculty include: dissection of molecular pathways controlling lymphocyte trafficking to the tumor microenvironment, molecular basis of the role of interactions between the host immune system and tumor cells, epigenetic mechanisms influencing the antigenic profile of tumor cells and their immunogenicity, role of cytokines in the induction of humoral and cellular antigen-specific immunity, molecular mechanisms underlying defects in major histocompatibility antigen expression, characterization of antigen processing abnormalities in malignant cells and their role in the clinical course of disease, the biology of professional antigen presenting cells, immunization strategies for enhancing systemic and cellular immunity by oral and intranasal vaccine delivery, antibody-based strategies to control tumor associated angiogenesis, antibody based immunotherapy of solid and liquid tumors, molecular basis of the cross-talk between cells of the innate and adaptive immune system and their impact on tumor growth, enhancement of tumor immunogenicity with heat shock proteins, and nanotechnology based immunodiagnostic and immunotherapeutic approaches.  The faculty has expertise in a broad range of cutting-edge technologies that encompass molecular and cellular immunology, nanotechnology, recombinant gene and protein expression, and imaging. 

The PhD degree usually requires four to six years of full-time study and research. Students are encouraged through a variety of training opportunities to analyze data critically, to question existing programs and to propose new solutions to long-standing problems. These goals are achieved through courses, seminars, journal clubs, and laboratory research with a highly motivated research and teaching faculty. There are frequent opportunities for students and faculty to present and discuss data and ideas in open forums. Close collaborative interactions exist between the basic research faculty and the clinical staff at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Thus, students are able to observe first-hand the interactions between basic and translational research and ultimately, the clinical applications that result. 

During the first year, all students complete a core curriculum that includes immunology, biochemistry, genetics, and molecular and cell biology. After three research rotations, a research mentor is selected and a supporting committee is established to help the student set up a program in his or her major field of interest. In subsequent years, the student concentrates on laboratory research; participates in advanced seminars; passes a qualifying exam, which consists of writing and presenting an NIH-style grant; and prepares a dissertation.