Research funding comes from a range of sources such as the National Institutes of Health, US Department of Agriculture, National Science Foundation and the Montana Agricultural Experimental Station among others. Over the past five years, M&I averaged over $6 million for annual research expenditures. M&I is also home to an NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Zoonotic and Emerging Infectious Diseases, which provides substantial core facilities and training opportunities for junior investigators. M&I is housed in a state-of-the-art facility with core laboratories for flow cytometry, cell biology, and molecular sciences, as well as pathogen containment facilities for small (BSL-3) and large animal research (ABSL-2). Instrumentation suites house equipment for DNA sequencing, genomic analysis, flow cytometry and cell sorting, and confocal microscopy. The Immunology and Infectious Diseases Program uniquely combines expertise in the study of pathogen biology, host defense, cell biology and use of small and large animal models. Four areas broadly encompass the scope of immunology and infectious diseases research:

  • Molecular and genetic studies of animal and pathogen biology
  • Understanding molecular pathways of communication between pathogen and host
  • Regulation of host immune responses in human and animal diseases
  • Uncovering molecular mechanisms of pathogen virulence