The immune system has a pervasive role in the great majority of human diseases. Hence, immunology is a discipline that spans to and can potentially unite all biomedical and clinical science areas.

The mission of the Immunology Focus Group (IFG) is to facilitate the basic, translational and clinical collaboration within WSU, KCI and HFHS, and with other leading institutions. The areas of interest include, but are not limited to

• Inflammation / autoimmunity / immunodeficiency
• Immunology of metabolic disorders
• Immunology of mental and behavioral diseases
• Cancer immunology and immunotherapy
• Advanced materials in immunotherapy

IFG promotes immunology related multi-disciplinary research, and elevates the quality of research to successfully compete for extramural funding. We work closely with other scientific theme groups on campus to host renowned scientific leaders to strengthen disease-orientated research platforms in WSU that are underpinned by immunology.

All scientists and clinicians in the departments and institutes in the Wayne State University, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center, Henry Ford Health System, John D. Dingell VA Medical Center as well hospitals affiliated with the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) in the greater Detroit area are invited to in our scientific and educational activities.

The IFG meets monthly on the first Tuesday of each month, unless otherwise scheduled.

Leading external investigators conducting outstanding research across all areas of immunology are invited to our campues. The IFG also arranges them to have private meetings with WSU, KCI, HFHS, VA and DMC investigators, graduate and medical students, postdoctoral fellows and medical residents and fellows, during which collaborations are nurtured. This platform is also used by the participating parties for recruiting outstanding talents to WSU.

IFG's internal meetings take place two to three times a year, where members review the progress and gather suggestions for the future.

The IFG has been successful since its inception. Through our efforts, participating members have established fruitful collaboration, obtained competitive extramural funding and published collaboratively on many leading journals. We have also been successful in facilitating the recruitment of new faculty members to WSU, training graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, developing new teaching curriculum for graduate students, connecting basic science and clinical faculty members across campus and the affiliated hospitals, and elevating the reputation of WSU at national level. These achievements have allowed the transformation of IFG into a model for other scientific groups in WSU.