Journal Guide
Immunity Impact Factor 26.3: Publishing Guide
The Cell Press home for mechanistic immunology: where fundamental insight meets immune function
26.3
Impact Factor (2024)
~8-10% overall; ~25% of manuscripts sent for peer review
Acceptance Rate
3-5 days to desk decision; 3-4 weeks to first decision after review
Time to First Decision
What Immunity Publishes
Immunity publishes fundamental new immunological insights at the molecular, cellular, or whole organism level. It is the premier Cell Press journal for immunology - sitting between the ultra-prestige of Cell (where immunology papers need to reshape all of biology) and the broader-access tier of Cell Reports. If you have discovered something mechanistically new about how the immune system works and it matters beyond your specific sub-field, Immunity is the journal.
- Innate immunity: pattern recognition, inflammasomes, innate lymphoid cells
- Adaptive immunity: T cell and B cell biology, antibody responses
- Tumor immunology and cancer immunotherapy mechanisms
- Autoimmunity and immune tolerance
- Infectious disease immunology across pathogens
- Neuroimmunology, immunometabolism, and microbiome-immunity interactions
Editor Insight
“Immunity occupies a unique niche: it is the place for mechanistically complete immunology that does not need to appeal to all of biology (Cell) but goes deeper than what Nature Immunology typically requires. The best Immunity papers make you rethink an aspect of immune function. If your paper describes a phenotype without a mechanism, it is not ready. If it has the mechanism but only matters to your sub-field, the scope may be too narrow. The sweet spot is fundamental insight with broad immunological significance.”
What Immunity Editors Look For
Fundamental new immunological insights
This is the explicit criterion from the editors. Not descriptive, not correlative - mechanistic understanding of how the immune system works at molecular, cellular, or organism level. 'We found that X happens' is not enough. 'We discovered HOW X happens' is Immunity.
Broad significance beyond your sub-field
A paper on Th17 cells needs to interest someone studying innate immunity. Work on mucosal immunity should intrigue a cancer immunologist. If only 30 specialists would read it, the scope is too narrow.
Multi-level analysis
Papers combining molecular, cellular, AND organism-level data are valued. A purely in vitro finding needs in vivo validation. A mouse study needs at least a bridge to human relevance.
Mechanistic depth, not just observation
Immunity requires deeper mechanism than Nature Immunology, which sometimes accepts more observational studies. If you have identified a new immune phenotype, you need to trace the pathway driving it.
Relevance to human health
Studies relevant to cancer, infectious disease, autoimmunity, or allergy are prioritized. Pure mouse studies with no human connection face a higher bar.
STAR Methods compliance
Cell Press's Structured, Transparent, Accessible Reporting format is non-negotiable. Key Resources Table, detailed statistical methods, and data/code availability are mandatory.
Why Papers Get Rejected
These patterns appear repeatedly in manuscripts that don't make it past Immunity's editorial review:
Submitting descriptive/correlative work without mechanism
The most common desk rejection reason. 'We observed X in Y conditions' is not an Immunity paper. Editors want to know the molecular mechanism driving the observation.
Mouse-only studies without human relevance
If your entire paper is in one mouse model with no bridge to human immunology, reviewers will question translational impact. At minimum, include human tissue data or genetic evidence.
Insufficient controls or statistical rigor
Cell Press editors are PhD scientists who read papers carefully. Missing controls, small sample sizes, and inappropriate statistical tests are caught at desk review, not just by reviewers.
Narrow scope that only interests ultra-specialists
Immunity serves the entire immunology community. A paper of interest only to the 40 people studying one specific kinase in one specific cell type will not get past editorial screening.
Exceeding word and figure limits
Articles: 7,000 words, 7 figures. Reports: 4,000 words, 4 figures. These are firm limits at Cell Press. Exceeding them signals you have not read the guidelines.
Weak cover letter that does not explain significance
In-house editors handle papers across many immunology sub-fields. Your cover letter must quickly explain the conceptual advance and why it matters to the broader immunology community.
Does your manuscript avoid these patterns?
The quick diagnostic reads your full manuscript against Immunity's criteria and flags the specific issues most likely to cause rejection.
Insider Tips from Immunity Authors
Always send a presubmission inquiry first
It is free and takes only 2-5 business days. Submit via Editorial Manager with title, abstract, and significance statement. This avoids wasting weeks on a full submission that gets desk-rejected.
The Cell Press transfer system is your safety net
If rejected from Immunity, you may be offered a transfer to Cell Reports or iScience with full manuscript history and reviewer comments. Transfer preserves everything and significantly reduces decision time at the receiving journal. The transfer option expires after 90 days.
Multi-Journal Submission is a game-changer
Submit to up to 30 Cell Press journals simultaneously. A dedicated Community Editor coordinates parallel consideration. Cell Press data shows ~42 days faster time to acceptance for MJS papers. Include Immunity AND Cell Reports as a backup option.
Editors attend immunology conferences to scout papers
Presenting at AAI, FOCIS, or Keystone Symposia can get you on their radar. Editors explicitly mention seeing presentations before receiving submissions. Conference visibility helps.
Opt into Sneak Peek for immediate visibility
When your paper is sent for review, you can opt into Sneak Peek - it appears on SSRN as a preprint, giving immediate visibility while under review.
Professional in-house editors advocate for papers they believe in
Unlike journals with academic editors juggling research duties, Immunity's full-time editors read deeply and will champion strong papers through the review process. Writing clearly helps them help you.
Papers rejected from Cell often land at Immunity
This is considered a 'soft landing' and is still very prestigious. If you are aiming for Cell with an immunology paper, having Immunity as a transfer target is a smart strategy.
Avoid submitting in December/January
Holiday period slows reviewer recruitment. Submit after major immunology conferences when reviewers are intellectually engaged and more likely to respond quickly.
The Immunity Submission Process
Presubmission inquiry (recommended)
Response within 2-5 business daysSubmit via Editorial Manager. Include title, abstract, and explanation of significance. Choose 'Presubmission' as article type. Contact: immunity@cell.com.
Full submission via Editorial Manager
Desk decision within 3-5 daysManuscript in STAR Methods format, all figures, Key Resources Table, graphical abstract (for Articles). Option to use Multi-Journal Submission or Sneak Peek preprint.
Editorial triage
3-5 daysProfessional in-house editors evaluate for novelty, scope, and mechanistic depth. ~60-75% of submissions desk-rejected. Fast decisions mean rapid feedback.
Single-blind peer review
3-4 weeks from submissionTypically 2-3 expert reviewers. Reviewers know author identities; authors do not know reviewers. Structured feedback provided.
Revision
2-3 monthsTypical revision window: 2-3 months with flexibility. Point-by-point response required. Mandatory raw data deposition at resubmission.
Publication
~10 weeks total from submission to publication for accepted papersOnline publication 3-5 weeks after acceptance. Print within 3 months. All articles become freely accessible after 12 months (delayed open access).
Immunity by the Numbers
| 2024 Impact Factor(Clarivate JCR) | 26.3 |
| CiteScore(Scopus) | 46 |
| H-index | 475 |
| Estimated submissions per year | ~3,000-4,000 |
| Articles published per year | ~231 |
| Desk rejection rate | ~60-75% |
| Time to desk decision | 3-5 days |
| Gold OA APC (optional)(Standard publication is subscription-based with no author fee) | $10,400 USD |
Before you submit
Immunity accepts a small fraction of submissions. Make your attempt count.
The pre-submission diagnostic runs a live literature search, scores your manuscript section by section, and gives you a prioritized fix list calibrated to Immunity. ~30 minutes.
Article Types
Research Article
Under 7,000 words, up to 7 figures/tablesFull-length mechanistic immunology research. The primary format for original discoveries.
Report
Under 4,000 words, up to 4 figures/tablesShorter format for significant but more focused findings. Good for timely discoveries that do not need the full Article treatment.
Resource
Similar to Research ArticleDatasets, computational tools, reagents, or other resources of broad utility to the immunology community.
Review
5,000-8,000 wordsthorough reviews covering recent literature. Mostly commissioned by editors; unsolicited proposals rarely accepted.
Perspective
~5,000 words, up to 100 referencesOpinion/viewpoint pieces on emerging areas. Usually commissioned but suggestions welcome.
Landmark Immunity Papers
Papers that defined fields and changed science:
- The Immune field of Cancer - thorough TCGA immune characterization (Thorsson et al., 2018)
- TGFβ and Th17 cell differentiation - founding papers of the Th17 lineage (Veldhoen et al., 2006)
- Innate Lymphoid Cell (ILC) classification and subset definition papers
- Regulatory T cell (Foxp3+ Treg) development and function studies
- Dendritic cell subset characterization and T cell priming mechanisms
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Primary Fields
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