Biomedical research on human subjects is notoriously difficult because of the difficulties in controlling the variables, locating a large enough sample size, and managing the ethical issues that have to be considered for every experiment. This volume contains contributions from scientists who have received grants from the Dana Foundation, and their work in the complex and diverse field of human immunology is notable for both its breadth and its depth.

Patient-based research in the areas of cancer, infectious disease, allergy, inflammation, and autoimmunity are summarized. It is through clinical studies that findings in animal models make their way into the arsenal of treatments available for human patients, and this volume demonstrates the progress of translational research in human immunology.

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Ralph Marvin Steinman was a Canadian physician and medical researcher at Rockefeller University, who in 1973 discovered and named dendritic cells while working as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Zanvil A. Cohn, also at Rockefeller University.