Vermont Collaborative for Immunity and Host-Microbe Interactions (CIHMI)

About Us

Who We Are

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The Vermont Collaborative for Immunity and Host-Microbe Interactions (CIHMI; pronounced chi-mee) is an interdisciplinary, cross-departmental, and cross-university group of researchers, focused on the immune system and/or the interactions of microbes with their hosts. 

Our membership includes faculty, staff, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students, and is open to all interested.   

Mission

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  • To promote rigorous scientific interactions and discourse in a fun and stimulating way
  • To foster research collaborations among our members
  • To provide training and educational opportunities in immunology and microbiology
  • To raise the rigor, visibility, and impact of CIHMI-related research in Vermont

What We Do

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Weekly Research in Progress (RIP) Meetings

These occur (almost) every Thursday morning at 9am in HSRF300, throughout the school year. Live schedule is posted here. The goal for these meetings is for members to present and discuss their current research (all stages are appropriate!).

Invited Speaker Seminar Series

Organized primarily by our trainees, these feature invited speakers whose research interests intersect with our major research themes.

Publications

This is a PubMed search filtered by CIHMI faculty name and Vermont as an affiliated location.

Our Research

Immunity
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  • Eyal Amiel (BHSC) - Immunometabolism and dendritic cells
  • John Barlow (Animal Science) - animal diseases, zoonosis, AMR
  • Jon Boyson (Surgery) - innate-like T cells in homeostasis and cancer
  • Jessica Crothers (Pathology) - viral immunology and vaccine development
  • Sean Diehl (MMG) - viral immunology and vaccine development
  • Kalev Freeman (Emergency Med) - endothelial cells in critical illness
  • Gerry Herrera (Pharmacology) - bladder smooth muscle biology
  • Beth Kirkpatrick (MMG) - vaccine development and immunology
  • Nicholas Klug (Pharmacology) - Vascular Physiology, Capillary networks
  • Dimitry Krementsov (BHSC) - genetics of autoimmunity and host-microbe interactions
  • Ben Lee (Medicine) - Pediatric enteric viral pathogens and vaccines
  • Dev Majumdar (Surgery) - B cells, RNA biology, lipid nanoparticles
  • Matthew Poynter (Medicine) - lung immunology in asthma and critical illness

Host-Microbe Interactions
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Education and Training

Training
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  • We have a close partnership with the Vermont Immunology and Infectious Diseases T32 training grant, currently in its 19th year of funding by the NIAID/NIH
  • Our PhD trainee members come primarily from the CMBS and NGP programs at UVM
  • Our Professional Development committee has hosted a number of events focused on expanding skillset necessary to propel the careers of our trainee members

Undergraduate and Graduate Education:

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  • Many of our faculty members teach courses in immunology and microbiology. Here are some relevant courses:
    • BHSC 3420 and MMG 3230, Immunology. This fundamental introductory immunology course is taught by Dr. Krementsov or Dr. Diehl on alternating years.
    • BHSC 6100, Advanced Immunobiology and MMG 6200, Cellular Microbiology.
      • These graduate-level fundamental courses are both recommended for PhD students pursuing research in CIHMI-affiliated labs
    • Other special topics courses in microbiology or immunology are offered by CIHMI faculty on variable years 

The MMG department offers numerous undergraduate courses in microbiology

Join CIHMI!

Contact CIHMI Director, Dimitry Krementsov