Clinical Immunology Society: the Early Years 1984–1989

Abstract

The Clinical Immunology Society (CIS) developed in two broad contexts: (1) as a component of immunology research and education with human relevance, and (2) as a component of clinical medicine, i.e., disease identification, pathogenesis, treatment, and prevention. Indeed, a purpose of the CIS was to bring these two areas closer together. Initial goals included uniting the clinical investigators from the wide array of clinical fields and providing information on scientific and clinical advances. There was also the intent to enhance the framing and scope of immune-based therapies. Conversations were initiated in 1984 to develop a society for bringing together the leadership of the many clinical and laboratory contexts of clinical immunology. From 1979 to 1984, I had been on the National Advisory Council for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), the senior advisory group to the NIAID, which met three times each year to review recommendations for research grant awards. In those years, I became acquainted, at least by name and field of interest, with almost all of the leading immunologists in the USA. Many I knew from my own research defining human andmurine immunoglobulins in the 1960s, immunology and cancer studies in the 1970s, and description and characterization of AIDS in the 1980s. The discussions from 1984 to 1986 involved more than 50 immunologists in the USA (Table I) and with a dozen more from other countries. The leading relevant organizations were consulted. These included the American Association of Immunology (AAI), the NIH, especially the NIAID, and other health-related organizations. Initial discussions identified several individuals who became major partners in advancing this enterprise: Noel Rose, Gary Fathman, Max Cooper, and Bernard Janicki. Noel Rose made special contributions and was a cofounder. His experience included AAI committees, advocacy of the American Board of Medical Laboratory Immunology within the American Society of Microbiology, as editorin-chief of the Manual of Clinical Laboratory Immunology, and as editor of the journal, Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology. He shared administrative responsibilities in the first years and has recounted some of the early events (Noel Rose, The inception of the Clinical Immunology Society—see http://www.clinimmsoc.org/about/history. php). Gary Fathman was prominent with his knowledge of the emergence of immunology in many clinical subspecialties and his own contributions at this interface. Max Cooper was a leader in both pediatric and fundamental immunology and was en route to becoming president of the AAI. Bernard Janicki was central to immunology communication at the NIH and communication with NIAID leadership.