The Ph.D. program is aimed at broad interdisciplinary and translational training in Biomedical Sciences and provides in-depth training in one of five areas of concentration. All students participate in an interdisciplinary first-year experience and then select an area of concentration from among Cancer Biology and Genetics, Infectious Disease and Immunity, Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, Neuroscience, and Organ Systems and Translational Medicine. The curriculum provides students with an interdisciplinary approach to research training, providing new pathways for learning and discovery. The Ph.D. program is intended to educate premier biomedical scientists who will be tomorrow's leaders in research, education, and government. This interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences graduate program offers five areas of concentration for students who plan to earn the Ph.D.: Cancer Biology and Genetics, Infectious Disease and Immunity, Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, Neuroscience, Organ Systems and Translational Medicine<br><br>The Infectious Disease and Immunity cluster (IDIM) brings faculty together from basic science and clinical departments, as well as research centers, to support and train PhD, MD/PhD and MS students within the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. The IDIM cluster provides educational and research opportunities focused on the overlapping fields of Microbiology and Immunology. Microbiology involves the study of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, or parasites) and the pathogenesis of the diseases they cause, whereas Immunology is the study of the mechanisms whereby our bodies control infections. The IDIM cluster houses comprehensive research programs covering multiple aspects of these related fields. For instance, investigators study basic aspects of bacterial physiology, the molecular biology of DNA and RNA viruses, with a particular emphasis on viruses important in human health, such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), and how innate recognition systems within the immune system, such as Toll-like receptors, function during host defense. Other investigators are examining specific aspects of the immune system, for instance at unique sites of infections such as the skin or the lungs, immune system dysfunction and how immune system functions are modulated by interactions with drugs of abuse such as opioids, methamphetamine, and cannabinoids.