The Legacy of CVI

Abstract

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology (CVI) will merge with the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) open-access journal mSphere in January 2018. We commemorate this transition by exploring the history of CVI and that of its predecessor, Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology (CDLI), and by acknowledging their contributors. Research on vaccines, clinical immunology, and clinical diagnostic immunology published through mSphere will be available without restrictions to an ever-larger audience, which will expedite progress in the field. ASM remains committed to supporting its members and the research community by facilitating the dissemination of scientific knowledge in these important areas. KEYWORDS vaccines Clinical and Vaccine Immunology (CVI) begins a new phase as it merges with the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) journal mSphere in January 2018. The time is appropriate to look at the history of the journal and its contribution to the scientific community. Most importantly, it is an opportunity to acknowledge those who have accompanied us and advanced CVI's mission: authors, editors, editorial board members, reviewers, ASM staff, ASM members, and the enduringly supportive research community, to whom we are most sincerely grateful. Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory ImmunologyThe journey started in January of 1994, when Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology (CDLI) was launched (Fig. 1). During this time, the number of clinical immunology laboratories expanded due to the increased demand for immunologically based diagnostic tests for infectious diseases and clinical laboratory assessment of immune cell competency. Practices for standardization, quality control, and quality assurance matured simultaneously, along with the expectation of high-quality clinical laboratory standards. As the area of diagnostic laboratory immunology expanded, the Publications Board of ASM recognized the need for a journal exclusively dedicated to clinical laboratory immunology. With Dr. Steven D. Douglas as founding editor in chief (1994 to 2003), CDLI was established to facilitate dissemination of the growing body of research in the field (1). Indeed, the following decade witnessed major scientific advances in cellular immunology, molecular genetics, and immunodiagnostics. Diagnostic immunology evolved from the identification of antibodies resulting from infection to a variety of new assays using polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to detect microbial antigens in body fluids and more-sophisticated methods for detecting antigen expression in tissue (2). Remarkable progress was also made in cellular immunology, particularly in the areas of immune deficiency, autoimmunity, inflammatory diseases, and immunopathogenesis. In vitro alternatives to skin testing for tuberculosis were developed, and flow cytometry and other methods for assessing immune function were increasingly utilized. These breakthroughs led to laboratory automation in diagnostic immunology (3). A series of commentaries by Isenberg, Rose, Fahey,...