Mission
The Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research conducts fundamental research on how the body successfully reacts to vaccines and battles infections and conversely, how infectious pathogens escape immune surveillance.
Modern medicine has made tremendous strides in fighting infectious diseases, but there is much more work to be done. Every year, influenza strikes millions of people, many of them fatally. Whooping cough and measles have made a comeback as the number of people who refuse to vaccinate their children grows. One third of the world’s population is infected with latent tuberculosis. Without treatment, about 5 to 10 percent of infected people will develop TB disease at some time in their lives.
Meanwhile, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is sweeping the globe, taking the lives of hundreds of thousands. La Jolla Institute, one of the leading global organizations dedicated to studying the immune system, is stepping up to provide much needed information and real solutions for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We have launched a multi-lab Coronavirus Task Force that capitalizes on our competitive advantages of unique skill in infectious disease research, state-of-the-art technology and highly collaborative organization to respond to the current crisis and prepare for future emerging diseases. Our other work on HIV, Ebola, Dengue, Zika, and Cytomegalovirus are further laying the groundwork for developing vaccines for these serious infections.
The Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research conducts fundamental research on how the body successfully reacts to vaccines and battles infections and conversely, how infectious pathogens escape immune surveillance.
The 30-minutes documentary “Life without Disease” by The Visionaries, an award-winning public television series hosted by Sam Waterston, showcases the critical work of La Jolla Institute for Immunology scientists working on the front lines of infectious disease including COVID-19.
LJI President and CEO celebrated among California’s leading life sciences innovators
Fleet's Sharp Minds lecture series to feature immune system experts
LA JOLLA, CA—New research in the journal Nature Communications gives scientists an important window into how Ebola virus replicates inside
Surprising insights on pertussis vaccines pave the way for next-gen protection
Computational biologists harness machine learning to make sense of immune system data
LA JOLLA, CA—Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) are investigating how the immune system’s T cells react to