About Us

History

La Jolla Institute for Immunology was established in 1988 by a coalition of leaders from academia and industry, including Dr. Makoto Nonaka, the Institute’s founding president, and Dr. Kimishige Ishizaka, the Institute’s first scientific director. These leaders envisioned a unique and dynamic partnership between basic science and applied research, one that would lead to breakthroughs in the understanding of the immune system and improve human health through the development of treatments and cures for immune system disorders.

Our Mission

Since its inception over 30 years ago, La Jolla Institute has solely dedicated itself to understanding the far-reaching power of the immune system because we believe that no other biomedical discipline has greater implications for human health than immunology.

Pursuing Breakthroughs through Collaboration

From the moment the La Jolla Institute for Immunology started to take shape in La Jolla, California, it formed strong ties to major academic institutions and medical centers. While the Institute is proud of its independence as a stand-alone, non-profit research organization, its researchers have established important partnerships within the research community—in San Diego, across the U.S. and throughout the world. This collaborative and collegial work environment enables pioneering science that reaches across disciplines, inspires out-of-the-box thinking, sparks creativity and ultimately results in life-saving innovations.

Our Faculty

Handpicked for their pioneering spirit, creativity and collaborative approach, twenty-one world leaders in immunology head independent laboratories that work on understanding different aspects of the immune system using the latest biomedical research tools and technologies.

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Our Board of Directors

Led by Chairman Gail K. Naughton, Ph.D., MBA, LJI’s Board of Directors includes, business leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists, and financial experts whose wide-ranging expertise is invaluable to the Institute as it increasingly moves research discoveries into the clinical and private sector.