LAUSR

I’m proud to say that the first 12 months of my tenure as Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Immunology (EJI) can be defined by initiatives to facilitate processes and extend boundaries. In a year in which the British public voted to leave the European Union [1, 2], the editorial team of EJI feel that these developments are more pertinent than ever. Our latest initiative recognizes the pressure to publish in a fast-paced research environment and awareness of some of the hurdles that make the publishing process a less than ideal experience at times. Accordingly, in November we introduced our simple first submission policy, wherein authors are no longer required to format their manuscripts as per EJI style (reference formatting, order of sections etc) for first submission, as long as manuscripts are compatible with the article types published in EJI. We hope that this addition to our existing policies of Fast and Fair peer review and fast-track handling for competitive situations [3], helps to make our authors’ lives easier. With regard to extending boundaries, EJI now has a broadened profile, publishing translational immunology in a wide range of clinical areas alongside the high quality basic research for which we have long been respected. To achieve this scope extension, we re-defined our subject categories to better and more specifically reflect our basic and clinical content, and revised our Editorial Board to feature translational experts from around the globe [4]. We feel that this evolution of the journal reflects the increasingly applicational drive of research being conducted today, and includes all immunobiologists, basic and clinical, in our community. I am therefore delighted to report that six months after EJI got this mini facelift, we are already publishing some excellent translational content. In addition to reviews on how ageing affects immunity [5] and immune monitoring in renal transplantation [6], our primary clinical papers cover topics as diverse as tumor biology [7], tissue-specific inflammation [8], and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis [9] and Sjögren’s syndrome [10]. That these articles represent scientific output not only from Europe [7], including the United Kingdom [8], but also collaborations between scientists in Europe, Asia and America [9], research in Australia [10] and in China [11] is a clear indication of the global appeal and reach of our Journal. I am particularly pleased to say that a forthcoming translational article on checkpoint inhibition in cancer immunotherapy has also been featured in news media [12]. I can only ask you to keep submitting these great papers. If you need further convincing of the value and appeal of EJI, aside from its role in broadcasting great immunology, EJI also continues to support the development and networking of the next generation of scientists in cooperation with the European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS, www.efis.org). To this end, in 2016 alone, EJI via EFIS supported at least 18 immunology schools, courses and meetings. EJI’s financial support of EFIS also enabled the professional development of no fewer than 50 young immunologists in awarding them EJI-EFIS travel grants to participate in the International Congress of Immunology in Melbourne, Australia, further showing the truly international reach of EJI. In addition, EJI published the Abstracts from this Congress [13]. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Caetano Reis e Sousa, who came to the end of his term as an EJI Executive Committee (ExCo) member, for his keen editorial sense and many contributions to EJI, and I am confident that he will continue to support EJI as an EJI Alumni. I’d like to wish all our readers, authors and editors a wonderful start to 2017, all the best in their research endeavors both basic and clinical, and to encourage everybody to continue to submit their best work to the Journal. Happy New Year!