LA JOLLA, CA—Since its inception 30 years ago, La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) has solely dedicated itself to understanding the far-reaching power of the immune system because we have always believed that no other biomedical discipline has greater implications than immunology for improving human health. Today, the Institute is widely recognized as one of world’s most influential centers for immunology research and proudly celebrates 30 years of groundbreaking research with a new name.
Formerly known as “La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology”, the Institute has changed its name to La Jolla Institute for Immunology to reflect its singular focus: to understand and harness the power of the immune system.
“There has never been a more exciting time to be an immunologist,” says President and Chief Scientific Officer Mitchell Kronenberg, Ph.D., who has been leading the Institute since 2003. “Every day, we learn more about how the immune system intersects in often unexpected ways with other systems in the body opening up new opportunities to prevent and treat disease. La Jolla Institute for Immunology brings a profound understanding of the immune system to the table and undoubtedly will contribute in important ways to the unfolding revolution in how we prevent and treat disease.”
Allergies are inappropriate immune responses to harmful environmental agents. Allergies remain an important problem and are still researched at the Institute, but they are only a part of the broad impact that results from research on the immune system and immune-related diseases.
Among the flood of research papers published by scientists and scholars in academic journals every year, the research contributions of scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology stand out for their global impact regularly earning them a spot among “The World’s Most Influential Minds.” This list of highly cited researchers is compiled annually by Thomson Reuters and honors scientists who have been in the top 1% of citations for their field of study spanning the last decade.
LJI scientists’ outsized influence has catapulted the Institute to the top 5 rank among immunology-focused independent research institutions in the world. Yet, despite the intense pressure that comes with shaping the forefront of biomedical research, the Institute has maintained its famously collegial spirit. La Jolla Institute for Immunology regularly ranks among the top finalists in local “Best Places to Work” surveys and five years ago, in the last of a decade-long survey conducted annually by The Scientist, scientists around the world voted La Jolla Institute as the Best Place to Work in Academia.
“I strongly believe that a friendly and collaborative environment allows scientists to attain the highest level of creativity and to inspire the outside-the-box thinking that will ultimately result in life-saving innovations,” says Dr. Kronenberg, who has been named one of San Diego’s “Most Admired CEO” by the San Diego Business Journal for cultivating the Institute’s nurturing environment.
About La Jolla Institute for Immunology
The La Jolla Institute for Immunology is dedicated to understanding the intricacies and power of the immune system so that we may apply that knowledge to promote human health and prevent a wide range of diseases. Since its founding in 1988 as an independent, nonprofit research organization, the Institute has made numerous advances leading toward its goal: life without disease.
