title: Immigrants in immunology: the benefits of lax borders.
abstract: The field of immunology has a long history of illuminating fundamental biological processes of critical importance to human health. From an outsider's perspective, the questions are profoundly philosophical and the experimental approaches are elegantly precise. Yet immunology can also appear impenetrable. Here we recount the experience of two graduate students from the fields of ecology and computer science, who have immigrated into immunological terrain attracted by systems-level questions. We argue that such migrations enrich the field of immunology, and that cultural and institutional changes are needed to promote more interdisciplinary explorations.
authors: Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
authors: Keaton
authors: K
authors: Stagaman
authors: Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
authors: Emily S
authors: ES
authors: Martinez
authors: Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA. Electronic address: guillemin@molbio.uoregon.edu.
authors: Karen
authors: K
authors: Guillemin
mesh_terms: D000486:Allergy and Immunology / Q000639:trends*; D019295:Computational Biology; D004463:Ecology; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008829:Microbiology; D049490:Systems Biology