The year 2020 will for ever be remembered as the time a virus first identified the previous year became a pandemic. SARS-CoV2, the causal agent of COVID-19, continues to spread around the globe impacting personal liberties, national economies and, worst of all, the health and life of millions. At the time of writing this piece, every country on earth is pondering which is the best strategy to eliminate, suppress or mitigate the effects of the pandemic. Views vary, but there is one aspect on which there is universal agreement: development of an effective vaccine is the best hope to bring an end to the pandemic. It is a phenomenal challenge that is already engaging collaborative efforts among virologists, biotechnologists and, naturally, immunologists, at a scale never seen before. Therapies that reduce the worst manifestations of COVID-19 are also being frantically sought after, and immunologists are again looked upon as the community of biomedical researchers that has the best chance of finding solutions. The science of immunology is at the centre of attention of news reports, opinion pieces and conversations everywhere, and terms like “neutralizing antibodies”, “immunological memory” or “cytokine storm” have made a rare transition from academic institutions to households. It is in this environment that Current Research in Immunology first comes to light, a modest but welcome reason for celebration.
The purpose of this new journal is to provide a fully open-access platform for the publication of good-quality, peer-reviewed research. It is a companion to the highly successful Current Opinion in Immunology series, a journal of reference that has been providing regular updates on advances in the field for many years. As an author and guest-editor in that journal on multiple occasions, I immediately appreciated the need and potential of a new platform that would make primary research articles readily accessible to anyone in the world, in an open access format. I am honoured to be the inaugural editor of Current Research in Immunology and humbled to receive endorsement by the outstanding scientists that comprise its editorial board. This inaugural issue brings you a series of articles that represent the all-encompassing scope of the journal: multidisciplinary research into basic and applied, innate and adaptive immunity. While the primary purpose of the journal is to publish original research, we will also welcome the opportunity to publish your commentaries and reviews on topics of relevance to the areas of immunology summarized in our statement of Aims and Scope. Every article submitted to the journal will be carefully considered by the Chief and/or Associate Editors and if it fulfills our standards of presentation and scientific quality, will be reviewed by experts in the field. We are committed to providing fair, balanced assessments in the shortest time possible, and to reach decisions that reflect the expectations and values of the scientific community.
We wish this new journal to be a welcome addition to the high-quality options available to us, scientists, to publish research that can have a positive impact on the advancement of human knowledge and health. The current pandemic will pass or, at least, come under control. Our diverse societies will regain the vigour and dynamism that underpin our continuous progress towards the improvement of living conditions and our understanding of the world we live in. We hope that Current Research in Immunology will provide a platform for the dissemination of information that will help make this possible, and be a source of inspiration for new generations of immunologists wishing to leave a positive legacy for the generations of the future. We thank you for your support and contributions.