IMMCG co-director invited to Sustainable Scientific Enterprise Task Force

Klaus Ley, MD, founding co-director of the Immunology Center of Georgia, part of the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Georgia Research Alliance Bradley Turner Eminent Scholar Chair in Immunology and professor of physiology, has been invited to join the Sustainable Scientific Enterprise Task Force, formed by former president of the American Association of Immunologists Ulrich H. von Andrian, MD.

The American Association of Immunologists established the Sustainable Scientific Enterprise Task Force in 2026 to examine growing concerns about the scientific publication process and its impact on researchers. The group, chaired by Stephen C. Jameson, PhD, Harry Kay Chair and professor in the Center for Immunology in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Minnesota, has been charged with exploring challenges like increasingly extensive experimental requirements during peer review and the resulting delays in publishing research findings, issues that can place significant demands on researchers’ time, funding and personnel resources.

While the task force’s work will focus primarily on immunology, its recommendations are expected to have broader implications across the biomedical research community. Members will identify opportunities to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the research ecosystem and help shape a larger national discussion on potential reforms aimed at accelerating scientific progress while making better use of limited resources.

“It is an honor to be invited to serve as a member of the AAI Sustainable Scientific Enterprise Task Force to address challenges in the current scientific publication process that affect researchers across all career stages,” Ley said. “As the demands of peer review continue to grow, it is essential that we identify practical solutions that promote rigor while improving efficiency and sustainability. I look forward to working with colleagues across the field to help strengthen the research enterprise for scientists today and for future generations.”

Ley’s research has helped advance understanding of how the immune system contributes to chronic diseases, particularly atherosclerosis. For more than 20 years, he has led pioneering studies examining the role of immune cells in arterial disease, helping establish the scientific foundation for new immune-based approaches to prevention and treatment. Most recently, Ley was part of an international team that published a paper in Nature Cardiovascular Research detailing why atherosclerosis should be classified as an autoimmune disorder.

Ley joined Augusta University in 2022 as one of the founding co-directors of the Immunology Center of Georgia following a distinguished career at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. In that role, he leads efforts to recruit top scientists and build a world-class research program focused on immunology, vaccines, cancer immunology and vascular disease, while continuing his own work to develop innovative therapies that harness the immune system to combat atherosclerosis and other chronic conditions.