The Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Emory is a dynamic research department of the Emory University School of Medicine. Our state-of-the-art research studies seek to discover fundamental aspects of the microbial world and how our immune systems protect us from bacterial and viral pathogens. We participate in medical school education and are responsible for teaching basic and advanced microbiology, immunology, and virology courses to PhD graduate students. Our faculty is fully committed to training the next generation of scholars, scientists, and physicians. Our faculty belong to four distinct graduate programs and are currently training approximately 30 students and 50 postdoctoral fellows.
Welcome from our Chair
The Department of Microbiology & Immunology (M&I) is a leader in biomedical research aimed at discovering the basic principles of how microorganisms (viruses and bacteria) function and how immune systems fight to keep these organisms at bay. Our faculty and research teams have strong expertise in exploring the mechanisms of viral pathogenesis for simian and human immunodeficiency viruses, herpesviruses, and influenza. We explore the ways in which sexually transmitted and other bacteria escape antibiotic treatment, how bacteria mobilize and colonize surfaces within the host, and how bacteria develop and differentiate as mechanisms for their survival. Using these and other systems, we also examine how immune systems can successfully protect hosts from infection and develop long-term memory that is useful for vaccine and therapeutic design to treat infection, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.
Department News and Announcements
Hidden Gem Award
Christopher Scharer, PhD, Associate Professor in Microbiology and Immunology, received the Emory School of Medicine the Hidden Gem Award for 2024.
In 2015, the Emory Medicine Recognitions Committee instituted the Hidden Gem award. These faculty members have been nominated by their departments in recognition of their outstanding, but often unnoticed or unrecognized, contributions to Emory or beyond.
Emory School of Medicine 1% Award
Christopher LaRock, PhD, Associate Professor in Microbiology and Immunology, received the Emory School of Medicine 1% Award for his work ,“GSDMA roles in skin innate immune defense”. The Emory 1% Awards honors and recognizes faculty who have received study section scores in the top 1 percentile on a grant proposal.
Max Cooper Award
The first Max Cooper Prize in Immunology was awarded to 3 structural biologists, whose groundbreaking research has paved the way for novel disease treatments and revealed new insights into the immune system. The recipients of Max Cooper Prize in Immunology are: Pamela J. Bjorkman of California Institute of Technology (center in photo); K. Christopher Garcia of Stanford University (third from left); and Ian A. Wilson of Scripps Research Institute (fifth from left). They were honored at a ceremony on September 12, 2024.
The $100,000 award, which will be shared equally among the researchers, was named for Dr. Max D. Cooper,, MD, a renowned immunologist at Emory, whose discoveries over more than six decades of research fundamentally changed science’s understanding of the adaptive immune system with implications for treatment of human disease.
New Faculty Promotion
Li Lab
2024 SOM Researcher Appreciation Day
Steinhauer Lab
The Provost’s Distinguished Teaching Awards honor outstanding scholars who excel as teachers within formal and informal educational settings.
Goldberg Lab
Congratulations Dr. Joanna Goldberg for being one of ten Emory faculty to be named an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow for 2023, the largest class of Emory faculty to ever receive the prestigious lifetime honor. These scientific leaders represent the fields of biology, engineering, neuroscience, psychology, chemistry, statistics and physics and embody scientific excellence while fostering trust in science.
Lakdawala Lab
Congratulations to Dr. Seema Lakdawala for being named a 2024 National Academy of Sciences Kavli Fellow. She was honored at the Kavli Frontiers of Science symposia on March 7-9th in Irvine, California.
Lowen Lab
Congratulations to Dr. Anice Lowen who was inducted as a fellow into the 2024 class of the American Academy of Microbiology by the American Society for Microbiology.
Day Lab
Cheryl Day, PhD, Associate Professor at the Emory Vaccine Center and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology received a new NIH R01 grant titled,"Identifying critical determinants of vaccine-induced cellular and humoral immunity from birth through childhood in HIV-exposed and unexposed children". This is an MPI R01 with Jennifer Slyker from University of Washington.
This project will study immune responses to vaccines from birth to 6 years of age in an ongoing cohort of Kenyan children. We will conduct longitudinal modelling of antigen-specific antibody and T cell responses to determine whether maternal immune activation and early-life exposure to the immune-modulating viruses HIV and cytomegalovirus (CMV), as well as other co-infections, nutrition, and intestinal inflammation, affect vaccine-induced immune responses from birth through middle childhood. These data will inform improved vaccination strategies for children living in areas with a high prevalence of HIV, CMV and malnutrition.
Dr. Day also published a paper, "Active tuberculosis is associated with depletion of HIV-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells in people with HIV," in AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses, March 2024.
Li Lab
Congratulations to Dr. Chaoran Li for receiving the 2024 AAI ASPIRE Award. The purpose of this award is to encourage and foster the development of talented early career AAI member scientists to continue advancing their research activities and scientific contributions in the field of immunology. Additionally, this award aims to enhance the careers of early stage investigators by providing support to disseminate their research via podium presentations at the AAI annual meeting.
Recipients receive complimentary meeting registration, a $2,000 cash award, and travel support to the AAI annual meeting for presentation of their research and the award presentation.
Cody Elkins, IMP graduate student in the Li Lab, won a trainee Abstract award at IMMUNOLOGY2024 and will be one of the Major Symposia speakers at this year’s meeting. This is the first time that students/fellows are being selected to talk at the AAI’s major symposia.