Journal of Human Immunity cover courtesy of the Rockefeller University Press, and background courtesy of the National Human Genome Research Institute
Rockefeller University Press and the International Alliance for Primary Immunodeficiency Societies (IAPIDS) have launched the Journal of Humanity Immunity, a journal co-owned by the nonprofit publisher and a global consortium of scientists.
Open access and peer reviewed, JHI focuses on human inborn errors of immunity (IEI), a rapidly advancing field that investigates the genetic underpinnings of a wide range of immune-related conditions, including infection, autoimmunity, autoinflammation, malignancy, and allergies. The online submission portal is open, and the first papers-the updated catalog of known IEIs and a companion paper-are now live.
"This is long overdue," says Rockefeller University's Jean-Laurent Casanova, JHI's founding editor-in-chief, who gives an in-depth perspective on the field in an inaugural editorial. "Since the 1950s, our field has made spectacular medical and biological contributions to the understanding of human immunity. The field has matured to the point that it needs its own journal to keep pace with the rate of discoveries."
"It's an exciting new direction for scientific publishing," says Susan King, editorial director of Rockefeller University Press. "Many editors are taking back control of their field by leaving for-profit journals and joining forces with not-for-profit publishers. We're delighted to be part of that wave."
From discord to accord
While this co-ownership represents a new flourishing accord between scientists and publishers, its origin lies in discord. For more than a decade, Casanova was the co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Immunology, which had been the official journal of the Clinical Immunology Society (CIS), one of IAPIDS's member societies. But in July 2024, the journal's publisher, Springer, pushed for an approach that would combine a higher publication rate with less editorial oversight-a proposal that had already been rejected by the 15 scientists on its editorial team, who saw it as promoting quantity over quality.
In response, the editor-scientists quit en masse, with resignations effective December 31, 2024.
A new opportunity for a blossoming field
However unfortunate, the split also presented a new opportunity-a chance to start an entirely new journal that was dedicated to inborn errors of immunity.
"Forty years ago, there were 10 known inborn errors. Now there are nearly 600," points out Casanova. "We predict that nearly everyone carries one inborn error of immunity or another. The main idea driving our field is that all immunological conditions-autoimmune conditions, infectious diseases, allergic conditions, inflammatory conditions, virus-induced tumors, and many others-are due to errors that we just haven't discovered yet."
They had specific terms in mind for the journal. It would need to be open access so that the research was available to everyone-scientists, policymakers, the public. It needed to have affordable article processing fees and reduced or waived fees for scientists from countries with limited resources.
And critically, IAPIDS wanted any revenues generated by article processing fees to be returned to the consortium as a re-investment in the field, says Elie Haddad, a clinician scientist in pediatric immunology, professor of pediatrics at the University of Montreal, and the president of both the IAPIDS and the CIS. "Our goal is to disseminate knowledge to scientists in our field, particularly those working in places where limited resources make it more difficult to publish or have access to the latest breakthroughs," he says. "So we wanted to use any revenues to further these goals and support member societies, which are on almost every continent."
That's when Casanova, head of the St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases at Rockefeller, contacted King. Rockefeller University Press co-owns the open-access journal Life Science Alliance with EMBO Press and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. Perhaps such a partnership was possible for IAPIDS too.
At the 11th hour
King says it was auspicious timing for RUP. The press had already been considering adding a new biomed journal to its portfolio, which at the time included Journal of Cell Biology, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Journal of General Physiology, and Life Science Alliance.
"Just as we were thinking about how we could bring our skill and expertise in biomedicine to a new journal, Jean-Laurent approached us with this opportunity," says King. "And when we learned they were interested in a cooperative publishing arrangement, which we've already had with Life Science Alliance for seven years now, we thought, 'Let's see if we can make this can work.'"
The leadership team at RUP, including King and Rob O'Donnell, senior director of publishing, put together a proposal for IAPIDS that included a $3,500 article processing fee-much lower than the industry average-discounted fees for IAPIDS members, and waived fees for researchers working in low- and middle-income countries. These details aligned with RUP's long-standing editorial ethos of offering reasonable, reduced, or waived fees for all of its journals.
"The proposal was very much a collaborative effort, but my main contributions were determining workflows and platforms, and developing a realistic but very ambitious launch timeline," says O'Donnell. The clock was ticking: the editors' resignations from the Springer journal would take effect on December 31. To that end, RUP promised IAPIDS that it would launch the new journal as soon as possible in the new year.
IAPIDS was sold. Haddad and his colleagues signed a memorandum of understanding on New Year's Eve, just hours before the ball dropped at Times Square. "We were very excited when the news came," O'Donnell says. "It was a lovely way to end one year and start the next-and it helped make the champagne all the sweeter."
Up and running
It took roughly six weeks for the RUP team to launch JHI-a remarkably fast timeline.
"It was a lot of hard work-everyone on the team put in nights and weekends-but there was also a real sense of excitement," O'Donnell says. "We knew from experience with Life Science Alliance that co-ownership involves shared responsibilities, communication, and compromise, all while providing exceptional author service through rapid, fair, and transparent editorial processes. We expect the same collaborative success with IAPIDS."
JHI will be reliant on author processing fees to cover the journal's cost of operations until advertising and sponsorship opportunities can be realized. Any surplus remaining after the journal's cost of operations have been covered will be split equally between IAPIDS and RUP.
The journal seeks immunological and clinical studies, including case reports, clinical series, and related papers relevant to the causes and consequences of inborn errors of immunity, says Casanova, who oversees the editorial process along with deputy editor Megan Cooper and 14 associate editors-including all who were formerly associate editors of the Springer journal-with expertise in a diversity of research areas. The journal aims for a month turnaround from editorial acceptance to publication.
Also involved are a scientific advisory board that includes 22 members of the National Academy of Sciences; a board of regional editors representing many nations; and a board of society editors representing 14 major immunological societies worldwide.
"We are interested in bridging the gap between genotypes and phenotypes through in-depth molecular and cellular mechanistic studies, but we encourage people to think broadly about how they might approach the field-and do not hesitate to reach out to us," Casanova says. "Our teams are warm, welcoming, and inclusive."
"Working alongside Jean-Laurent has been an inspiring experience," O'Donnell says. "His profound influence in the field of immunity is undeniable, and helping JHI meet his expectations has already been a career highlight for me."
"We are very optimistic that the Journal of Human Immunity will be a high-impact reference journal," adds Haddad. "There is a deep commitment from our societies to engage their members to publish in JHI because it is our journal. We think it will be a huge success."
