New immunology institute reimagines postdoctoral training

The UW Medicine Institute for Translational Immunology has revamped its training for biomedical researchers focused on understanding the body’s defense mechanisms against infection, cancer and autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis and lupus.

As scientists continue to learn more about how the immune system functions, there’s hope of developing these findings into practical therapies to prevent, detect or treat an array of diseases. Advancing scientific discoveries from the laboratory into the clinic is known as translational medicine and is a major goal of immunology research.

At the forefront of translational medicine are postdoctoral fellows, Ph.D.-level scientists preparing to launch independent careers. The Institute’s leaders suggest that traditional biomedical postdoc fellowships do not provide adequate training to advance translational medicine. 

They add that traditional postdoc fellowship programs were designed to mentor fellows on academic career paths — but that training needs have changed as many fellows are choosing nonacademic careers in commercial biotech, science writing and project management. 

To support postdocs in becoming successful scientists regardless of career path, the Institute for Translational Medicine is modernizing fellowships to include training in communication and leadership skills, mentorship, career-specific education and networking opportunities. 

The vaccine and therapeutic successes during the COVID-19 pandemic inspired the new direction. Scientists’ achievements at the UW School of Medicine and collaborating institutions showed that translational research can rapidly move lab discoveries into vaccines and therapies that protect people’s health. 

During the pandemic, Seattle experts in immunology and other fields united to share ideas, lab resources and results. They quickly developed comprehensive studies of SARS-CoV-2 (the pandemic coronavirus) and antibody-based therapies. 

“We tackled urgent clinical problems by forging collaborative research teams from disparate scientific disciplines, including immunology, protein design, biochemistry, microbiology, genome sciences, pathology and infectious diseases,” said Marion Pepper, professor and chair of immunology at the UW School of Medicine. 

Postdoctoral researchers conducted many of these translational studies, exemplifying trainees’ potential to advance clinical therapies, she added.

“UW Medicine has sustained the collaborative research momentum generated during the COVID-19 pandemic by creating the Institute for Translational Immunology and its new postdoctoral training approaches,” Pepper added. “Generous donors made these fellowships possible.” 

In addition to performing translational research, each postdoc fellow chooses a training track for either an entrepreneurial or academic career. Fellows who plan to enter positions in industry get management and leadership training at the UW Foster School of Business, learn about drug discovery and clinical trials from the UW Institute of Translational Health Sciences, and explore intellectual property guidelines with UW CoMotion. Fellows seeking roles in academic settings take courses in grant writing, administration and lab management.

All fellows will serve in the PROPEL program, where they will be mentoring college graduates from historically underrepresented backgrounds in research and graduate school preparation. 

In turn, the fellows will each be supported by three seasoned scientists: an immunology mentor, a collaborating mentor and a networking mentor. Collaborating mentors are from a field other than immunology, such as chemistry, genome sciences, protein design, or neurosciences, to encourage interdisciplinary exchanges. The networking mentors will be either academics or industry professionals.

The first group of postdoctoral fellows started Sept. 1.

Jaime Chao will use the fellowship to determine how vaccine design can alter the biodistribution of antigens and inflammatory agonists to enhance protective immunity. 

“I’m excited to be a part of the inaugural class of fellows and looking forward to collaborating across the synergistic research hubs within Seattle,” she said. Michael Gerner in immunology and Neil King from biochemistry and the Institute for Protein Design are her mentors.

Victor Lui is using his fellowship to pursue his career goal to design engineered T cells to treat autoimmune diseases. 

“I am looking forward to the entrepreneurial opportunities of the fellowship,” Lui said. “The opportunities provided by this fellowship will certainly prepare me for my goal to have a leadership position in the biotech industry.” Jane Buckner at the Benaroya Research Institute and David Rawlings of Seattle Children’s Research Institute are Lui’s mentors.

Thornton Thompson has two areas of focus for his fellowship: type 2 immunity in colorectal cancer, and disease consequences of helminth/virus coinfections. 

“My future career goal is to form an independent laboratory focused on investigating how immune networks are co-opted in diseases,” said Thompson. “The ITI fellowship support will not only help me achieve my career goal, but will also support my research on helminth infection that may reveal the biology underlying several long-standing global health inequities.”  Jakob von Moltke in immunology and Jason Smith in microbiology are Thompson’s mentors.

To learn more about the institute, become a mentor, or donate to the institute, visit its website or contact the postdoctoral fellowship program director: itifellowship@uw.edu.

For details about UW Medicine, please visit http://uwmedicine.org/about.