The Department of Microbiology and Immunology was established in 1938 and was originally named the Department of Bacteriology. The department is one of the five basic science departments located in the Carver College of Medicine at The University of Iowa. The Department is composed of 23 primary tenure-track and tenured faculty, 4 instructors, and 5 secondary appointment faculty members. The Department has a long history of excellence in teaching, research, and service in Microbiology. For example, the Department has all-University teaching responsibilities, teaching basic and advanced microbiology to undergraduates, graduate students, and professional students (medical, dental, nursing, and pharmacy).
The faculty research programs in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology are highly successful and internationally known for their excellence. The Department has four major broad areas of emphasis: Bacteriology, Immunology, Parasitology, and Virology. Specific research programs investigate emerging infectious diseases and biodefense pathogens and important global protozoan pathogen diseases, including malaria and leishmaniasis. Additionally, research [Bowen Science Building] laboratories study cell-cell and intracellular signaling within the immune system, governing normal and abnormal immune functions.
The majority of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology is located on the third floor of the Bowen Science Building (BSB), which is part of the Health Sciences complex. The other basic science departments are based in the BSB and include Anatomy and Cell Biology (first floor), Neuroscience and Pharmacology (second floor), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (fourth floor), and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics (fifth and sixth floors). The clustering of Microbiology and Immunology faculty members in close proximity promotes innovative and collaborative science. Additionally, Microbiology and Immunology are widely recognized as being translatable sciences. It is thus helpful that many department faculty members have secondary appointments in other departments, promoting strong collaborations.