The purpose of the UAB HSOM Immunology Institute (II) is to facilitate collaborations between the clinicians who bring immune-modifying therapies to their patients and the basic researchers who elucidate the fundamental principles of the immune system and use this knowledge to drive discovery of better therapies to treat and prevent disease.

"II will connect studies in cancer, infectious disease, precision medicine, transplantation, allergy, neurology and many other specialties," says Frances Lund, Ph.D., director of II. "The institute will develop and support cutting-edge technologies that will advance cellular, molecular, genetic and preclinical experimental model system studies of the immune system. II will also provide the infrastructure and resources to support scientists who wish to apply the knowledge they have gained from their mechanistic basic studies to human disease using samples from healthy individuals and patients. Likewise, it will connect clinicians with basic scientists who can bring their knowledge of the immune system to interrogate patient samples, thereby steadily bridging the gap from bench to bedside.”