Dr. Russell Vance obtained his PhD in 2000 under the mentorship of David Raulet at the University of California, Berkeley. He conducted postdoctoral studies in the laboratories of John Mekalanos and Bill Dietrich at Harvard Medical School. He was appointed Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley in 2006, and is currently a Professor and HHMI Investigator. Infection is a constant threat to all living things. Most of us are oblivious of this threat because our immune system does a remarkable job of eliminating infectious microbes before they cause symptoms. The Vance group is interested in understanding how the immune system detects the presence of infectious microbes, using all the tools of modern molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics to dissect the fundamental mechanisms that provide host defense. The group is also interested in understanding the mechanisms by which pathogens evade host immunity and cause disease.