The British Society for Immunology (BSI) family of journals is an important part of what we do, providing a trusted home for immunology research, funding our wider activities (including the BSI Congress, events, grants and training), and raising the profile of immunology and immunologists in society. In January this year, Claudia Mauri (Professor of Immunology at University College London, Institute of Immunity and Transplantation) took on the role of Editor-in-Chief of our oldest journal, Clinical & Experimental Immunology (CEI). Here, she reflects on what she has learnt during her first year in the role and explores some of her future plans for the journal’s direction.
Having served as Editor-in-Chief of Clinical & Experimental Immunology for almost a year now, it has been a time of discovery and growth, from familiarising myself with the editorial process, reviewing and assigning articles, and attending events to raise awareness of CEI, to connecting with my colleagues on the editorial board.
We’ve already had our share of successes. In June, CEI achieved an impact factor of 3.8 marking a significant increase from previous years that places us in the second quartile for immunology journals. This growth was accompanied by improvements in many other usage and experience metrics, demonstrating that the articles we publish are attracting attention and that authors are having positive experiences. I look forward to building on this momentum and continuing to publish high-quality, citable research.
One of my main priorities for CEI is raising awareness within the immunology community of how vital the income generated by this, together with the other BSI journals, is in funding the events, grants and wider activities carried out by the BSI. As a not-for-profit publisher, revenue from both CEI subscriptions and Open Access publishing fees is directly reinvested into the immunology community. I have been surprised by how few immunologists I’ve met at recent events were aware of this, and it’s now something I make a point of emphasising in my presentations and conversations at BSI and other meetings.
Submission quality is another area I am particularly eager to address in the coming years. Across academic publishing, there has been a concerning rise in so-called ‘paper mills’, in which potentially fraudulent research articles are submitted to journals, often by individuals who have not carried out the work presented in the paper. These submissions not only pose a threat to scientific credibility but also demand considerable time and care from the editorial team and me as we determine their authenticity before peer review. We’re working closely with our publisher, Oxford University Press, to help curb this trend and ensure that CEI continues to publish only high-quality immunology research.
I’m delighted to have overseen the publication of several exciting articles, Review Series and ‘Clinical & Experimental Treatment of...’ articles this year. Joana Neves kindly led a Review Series titled ‘Organoids to study immune cells development and function’,1 published early this year, which has proved a popular resource. We also collaborated with the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) to develop a collection of research articles2 to complement their annual meeting.
Looking ahead, I plan to work with the editorial board to ensure that the journal’s sections are well defined and reflect the breadth of research we aim to publish. One observation I’ve made is that we receive relatively few submissions of experimental research conducted in animal models. We’re taking steps to clarify the journal’s scope and would encourage authors who are unsure whether their work fits to contact us before submitting elsewhere.
We have an exciting year ahead at CEI, as the journal prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2026. Stay tuned for more information on how we plan to mark this milestone – CEI certainly has a legacy worth celebrating!
