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What is immunology?

From Edward Jenner’s pioneering work in the 18th Century that would ultimately lead to vaccination in its modern form (an innovation that has likely saved more lives than any other medical advance), to the many scientific breakthroughs in the 19th and 20th centuries that would lead to, amongst other things, safe organ transplantation, the identification of blood groups, and the now ubiquitous use of monoclonal antibodies throughout science and healthcare, immunology has changed the face of modern medicine. Immunological research continues to extend horizons in our understanding of how to treat significant health issues, with ongoing research efforts in immunotherapy, autoimmune diseases, and…

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 A secret weapon called immunology

Despite the well‐known successes of this vaccination principle in such old infections as measles, diphtheria, smallpox, polio, and now even venereal disease, immunology as a science languished in the musty back sections of the bacteriology lab. Scientists didn't know enough about how immunity worked to use it against other kinds of killer diseases. Today the status and direction of immunology have changed dramatically. Scientists have now traced the immune system through the body, pinpointing the thymus, a small gland near the heart, as the master gland that controls one component of the body's immune response and tagging the bone marrow as controlling the other component of what appears to be a defense‐and‐offense system.

 Nobel prize awarded for discovery of immune system’s ‘security guards’

Three scientists have been awarded the 2025 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine for discovering how the body stops its own immune system from turning against itself. Shimon Sakaguchi from Osaka University in Japan, Mary E. Brunkow from the Institute for System Biology and Fred Ramsdell from Sonoma Biotherapeutics, both in the USA, identified specialised “security guard” cells that keep our immune system in check. These discoveries have been important for understanding how to treat and prevent autoimmune conditions. The trio will share a prize sum of 11 million Swedish Kronor (£870,000). An effective immune system is critical. It sculpts tissues as they grow and clears away old cells and debris. It also eliminates dangerous viruses, bacteria and fungi, keeping us healthy.

 The Remarkable Journey of Immunology

Today’s immunology looks like science fiction compared to Jenner’s cowpox experiments. Scientists have developed checkpoint inhibitors (medicines that help immune cells better recognize and attack cancer) that won the 2018 Nobel Prize. They’ve created CAR-T cell therapy (a treatment that genetically modifies a patient’s immune cells to fight cancer) and designed mRNA vaccines (vaccines that teach cells to make proteins that trigger immunity) in record time during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Why immunology research is so important

For those of us who study the inner workings of the immune system, our work takes us on a journey throughout the human body. From stopping infections in the lungs, to repairing damage in the liver; to preventing cancer in the skin or keeping the resident gut bacteria in check in the colon. Immunology really is a multidisciplinary science at the centre of much translational research.

Articles of Interest

How does your immune system stay balanced? A Nobel Prize-winning answer

Every day, your immune system performs a delicate balancing act, defending you from thousands of pathogens that cause disease while sparing your body’s own healthy cells. This careful equilibrium is so seamless that most people don’t think about it until something goes wrong. Autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 diabetes, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are stark reminders of what happens when the immune system mistakes your own cells as threats it needs to attack. But how does your immune system distinguish between “self” and “nonself”? The 2025 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine honors three scientists – Shimon Sakaguchi, Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell – whose groundbreaking discoveries revealed how your immune system maintains this delicate balance. Their work on two key components of immune tolerance – regulatory T cells and the FOXP3 gene – transformed how researchers like me understand the immune system, opening new doors for treating autoimmune diseases and cancer.

'The Beautiful Cure' Reveals The 'Profound' Power Of The Immune System

Immunologist Daniel Davis says scientists are harnessing the power of the immune system to create new medications to fight cancer, auto-immune conditions and other diseases.

Could Immunotherapy Lead the Way to Fighting Cancer?

A new treatment that uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer is offering hope to patients with advanced disease

Daniel M Davis: ‘Unbelievable things will come from biological advances’

The immunology professor on the personal data which will shape our future and how the pandemic has fired everyone’s interest in the immune system

Got a cold? Here’s how your immune system is fighting it.

The human body’s defensive lineup is impressive—from made-to-order antibodies to natural-born killers. Here’s how it wards off sickness in every season.

Harnessing the Immune System to Fight Cancer

New drugs and methods of altering a patient’s own immune cells are helping some cancer patients — but not all — even when standard treatments fail.

How Space Travel Can Damage Our Immune Systems

Research finds that living in low-gravity conditions can take a toll that goes far beyond an aversion to dehydrated foods.

Immune health is all about balance – an immunologist explains why both too strong and too weak an immune response can lead to illness

For immune health, some influencers seem to think the Goldilocks philosophy of “just right” is overrated. Why settle for less immunity when you can have more? Many social media posts push supplements and other life hacks that “boost your immune system” to keep you healthy and fend off illness. However, these claims are not based on science and what is known about immune function. Healthy immune systems don’t need to be “boosted.” Instead, the immune system works best when it is perfectly balanced. Scientific experts on the immune system – immunologists – know that too much of an immune reaction could result in allergies, autoimmune disorders or chronic inflammation. On the flip side, too little of an immune reaction could result in illness or infection. Your immune system requires a delicate balance to operate properly. When it’s out of balance, your immune system itself can cause disease.

Immune ‘Boosters’ Ignore the Immune System’s Best Quality: Balance

A healthy immune system is not fighting every minute. It’s also deciding what not to react to, what not to kill; this discernment is a skill it spends our whole lives refining. The immune system’s job, said Petter Brodin, an immunologist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, is to maintain a healthy relationship with all of the bugs that live in, on, and around us. If the immune system killed everything foreign in sight, we would not have a microbiome (the millions of beneficial bacteria that live in and on us), and our bodies would resemble “scorched earth,” said writer and journalist Matt Richtel, the author of An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System.

Immunology touted as next big thing for popular science

Professor Daniel Davis says that scientists are using a number of innovative ways to generate public discussion on immunology and the time is right for people to get to grips with the subject.

Inflammation & Immunology: Root Causes

Inflammation is a critical response to potential danger signals and damage to organs in our body. But with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and many others, our own immune system turns against our organs. These painful and debilitating conditions take an immense toll on people’s quality of life and many of these diseases are poorly managed by existing treatments that provide only symptomatic relief. For decades, doctors relied on steroids to suppress immune response. Though an important option, steroids come with many potentially harmful side effects.

Innovations in Immunology

Iwasaki is a three-time funded Women’s Health Research at Yale Investigator who has used Pilot Project Program funding to explore innovation in immunology. Her most recent Women’s Health Research at Yale study focused on sex differences in COVID-19.

The Scariest Health Threat You've Never Heard Of

It's more common among young women than breast cancer, and rates have been doubling, even tripling. Here's what you need to know about autoimmune disease—and a first peek at the research on staying safe.

Women in immunology: 2020 and beyond

Women have been at the forefront of critical discoveries—from deciphering immune cell differentiation and function to the development of ground-breaking technologies, novel diagnostics and innovative therapies. At the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), we are proud to have a great scientific environment and outstanding women immunologists who have made key advances

Resources

Immunology Explained

As an objective, independent, and trusted resource, our content is research-backed and vetted by expert immunologists, promoting a deeper understanding of immune health that can help people and their loved ones live longer, healthier lives.

Science Immunology

Immunology is in a period of unprecedented expansion and progress. The broad influence of the immune system on diverse aspects of health and disease is beginning to be appreciated, and innovative immunological interventions are proving successful in the clinic. New tools are revealing the extent of this influence with exceptional precision and reach. Science Immunology provides a platform for the most exciting findings in this growing field.

Exploration of Immunology

Exploration of Immunology (eISSN 2768-6655), a peer-reviewed, open access online journal. The journal is a multidisciplinary journal that publishes papers of the highest quality and significance in all areas of immunology. Priority is given to work that provides translational and/or fundamental insight into the workings of the immune system.

American Association of Immunologists

AAI is a professional association dedicated to advancing knowledge within immunology and related disciplines, fostering the interchange of ideas and information among scientists, and promoting a better understanding of the field.