免疫学是一个跨越生物学领域的领域，从蛋白质识别界面的结构生物学到宿主对病原体防御的有机调节。免疫系统不仅是生命所必需的，而且与中枢神经系统一样，也是生物体中两个系统中的一个，其中一个系统最显着地体现了其一生的特殊经历。复杂的多细胞生物体中的免疫系统会不断调整自身，以预测未来的挑战，同时又能从过去的挑战中恢复过来，并利用人体发育基因调控，细胞周期控制，代谢控制和信号转导生物化学的所有资源。免疫学领域通常被认为是生物医学研究中的一个独立专业，但这并不是Caltech追求的领域。免疫学涵盖了特定的大分子，这些大
Immunology covers the macromolecules that define the boundary between an organism's self, its commensals, and its environment, the developmental programming of cells that detect and respond to danger, and the impact of these cells and molecules on an organism's health. This field is often considered a discrete specialty in biomedical research, but at Caltech, immunology is treated as a complex biological system in which the roles of crucial components can be dissected and revealed by the system's performance under dynamic challenge. Caltech immunologists focus on areas where immunology is most illuminated by being viewed in a broader biological context, with strong synergy with research in developmental biology, structural biology, neurobiology and microbiology. This gives Caltech immunologists unusually strong access to new perspectives, technologies and approaches outside of the conventional boundaries of immunology.