female students in lab coats and goggles
Adaptive Immunity

At the University of Michigan Medical School Department of Microbiology & Immunology, we study the basic questions relating to the role of T and B lymphocytes in adaptive immunity. Many of us seek to understand adaptive immunity at a molecular level in whole animals. These studies provide important insights into the function of the adaptive immune system in health and disease.

Learn more below about our areas of investigation and view a list of faculty members conducting research on adaptive immunity.

Areas of Investigation

We investigate:

  • Intracellular signaling mechanisms regulating T cell development and activation
  • Immunoglobulin class switch recombination in B cells using techniques such as bacterial artificial chromosome transgenesis
  • The behavior of T cells as regulators of adaptive immune responses and as effector cells is examined in bacterial infection and organ transplantation models using combined cellular and molecular approaches.
  • The mechanisms involved in processing of antigen for recognition by T cells, including intracellular assembly of major histocompatibility complex class I proteins, and their altered trafficking in virus-infected cells

We are using the latest techniques and technology, including genome engineering methods.

Faculty researching Adaptive Immunity
headshot of Michael Bachman Michael A Bachman, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Pathology
Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Medical Director, Clinical Microbiology Laboratory
Program Director, Clinical Research
Clinical Pathology Division
Cheong-HeeChang-1200x1500.png Cheong-Hee C H Chang, PhD
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Kathleen L. Collins Kathleen Collins, MD, PhD
Professor of Internal Medicine
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Associate Dean for Physician Scientist Education and Training
headshot of Kate Eaton Kathryn A Eaton, PhD, DVM
Professor Emeritus/a
goldstein-daniel Daniel R Goldstein, MD
Eliza Maria Mosher Collegiate Professor of Internal Medicine
Professor of Internal Medicine
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Research Professor
Institute of Gerontology
Philip D. King Philip D King, PhD
Professor of Microbiology
Immunology
KirschnerDenise22-large-853x1280 copy.jpeg Denise E Kirschner, PhD
Program Director, Microbiology and Immunology Mentoring Program
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
labcoat Yasmina Laouar, PhD
Program Director, Microbiology and Immunology DEI Initiatives
Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Bethany B. Moore Bethany Moore, PhD
Nancy Walls Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Chair, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Professor of Internal Medicine
MICHAL A OLSZEWSKI Michal A Olszewski, DVM, PhD
Professor of Internal Medicine
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Jeffrey Platt Jeffrey L Platt, MD
Professor of Surgery
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Malini Raghavan Malini Raghavan, PhD
Nancy Walls Research Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Director Academic Programs
Immunology Graduate Program
shenoy-anukul Anukul Shenoy, PhD
Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology