Microbiology: Infection, Immunity & Disease

What Will You Do?

• Build a timeline of discoveries in medical microbiology

• Model germ transmission and test a handwashing protocol

• Compare bacteria, viruses, fungi, and beneficial microbes

• Map immune-system responses to infections and disorders

• Research a disease and explain how a treatment works

• Develop and present a microbiology capstone proposal

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Compare microorganisms and their roles in health and disease

• Use experiments and research to explain transmission and immune responses

• Explain a researched response to a microbiology challenge using scientific evidence

You’ll leave with your laboratory-style observations, disease and treatment diagrams, capstone proposal, and a certificate of completion.

Why Microbiology Skills Matter

Microbiology helps students connect invisible organisms to visible outcomes in health, food, ecosystems, and biotechnology. Designing a handwashing test shows how a procedure and evidence can replace assumptions. Comparing microbes and immune responses prevents the common mistake of treating every infection as the same.

Researching a disease or treatment also develops source evaluation and causal reasoning. Students must distinguish the organism, the body’s response, and the mechanism of an intervention. These habits support future learning in biology, medicine, public health, environmental science, and laboratory investigation.

Who Should Attend?

For students who have completed 6th, 7th, or 8th grade.

For students curious about germs, immunity, or how something tiny can affect the body, this course offers experiments, diagrams, and research to explore. Working with classmates and building visual explanations give them different ways to share a scientific idea. Developing and revising a project gives them time to follow a scientific question and find a clearer way to explain it.

Institute for the Gifted eligibility requirements apply; see the program FAQ.

Based on students surveyed in 2026 about Summer Discovery programs at Yale University campus.

The Institute for the Gifted program takes place on Yale University’s campus in New Haven, Connecticut.

The setting gives middle-school students a memorable place to learn, have fun, and experience campus life. New Haven’s connections to law, theater, science, and the arts, along with the campus’s courtyards and academic spaces, make exploring a subject feel different from an ordinary school day. The program combines active academics with friendships, campus activities, clear routines, and support as students grow comfortable in a new community. Students can try challenging ideas, meet peers who share their interests, and build age-appropriate independence.