About the Cover
Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a newly discovered type of lymphocyte, the study of which is an emerging field in immunology having a major impact on our understanding of immune responses. This artistic rendition is based on a frozen-section image of an immature isolated lymphoid follicle in the small intestine. Intestinal microvilli can be seen as multiple blue rings of cells, forming a backdrop for the isolated lymphoid follicle. The red cells express RORγt and are mostly ILC3s, including lymphoid tissue inducer-like cells and other NCR⁻ ILC3s. Bright green marks NKp46. Cells with red nuclei surrounded by bright green are NCR⁺ ILC3s. The blue cells within the follicle are B cells. For more details on the various types of ILCs, their development, functions, and possible roles in the antitumor immune response, see the Masters of Immunology article by Vivier and colleagues on page 1109 of this issue. This illustration (by Lewis Long) is based on Figure 1C from a paper originally published by these authors: Reynders A, Yessaad N, Vu Manh TP, Dalod M, Fenis A, Aubry C, Nikitas G, et al. Differential function of NKp46⁺RORγt⁺ and NKp46⁺RORγt⁻ gut lymphoid cells. EMBO J 2011;30:2934–47A, with permission of the authors.

About the Master
Eric Vivier, DVM, PhD, is a professor of immunology at Aix-Marseille University who was born in Clamart, France. He graduated with the highest honors (silver medal) from the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort and received his doctoral degree in immunology from Paris XI University. He began his postdoctoral training as a Fogarty International Center Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School with Paul J. Anderson and Stuart F. Schlossman (the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute). He joined Aix-Marseille University as a professor at the Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy (CIML) in 1993 and became its director in 2008. In 1999, Dr. Vivier cofounded the biotech company Innate-Pharma. In 2014, he was one of the founders of the Marseille-Immunopole, an immunology cluster linking fundamental research, therapeutic innovation, and industrial development in the Aix-Marseille region.
Dr. Vivier has made seminal contributions to our understanding of the molecular basis of the ontogeny, function, and therapeutic manipulation of natural killer (NK) cells, and the identification of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) in mice and humans. His research has had a profound influence on the field of innate immunology. His early work determined the mode of action of the inhibitory MHC class I receptors expressed on NK cells and extended the concept of ITIM-bearing molecules to multiple cell types and multiple biologic functions. In parallel, his group identified the ITAM-bearing polypeptide, KARAP/DAP12. The Vivier laboratory has since been a world leader in the generation of transgenic mouse models for the dissection of NK-cell function in vivo. Building on these basic research results, the Vivier laboratory has also been involved in the development of innovative treatments for cancer. This translation of basic research discoveries into clinical applications led to the development, in 2009, of a first-in-class therapeutic monoclonal antibody to KIR (lirilumab), the efficacy of which against various cancers is currently being assessed. These studies on NK cells led to the involvement of the Vivier laboratory in the discovery of ILCs through the detection and characterization of the ILC3 cell subset in human and mouse intestine.
Dr. Vivier has published more than 270 scientific articles and is on the editorial boards of leading peer-reviewed journals. He serves on the expert panel of the European Research Council and on the committees of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. In recognition of his scientific achievements, Dr. Vivier has received awards from the French National League against Cancer (1996, 2004, and 2013), the National Award and Tremplins Rhône-Poulenc Award for Biotech start-ups (1999), the Lucien Tartois Award from the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (1999), the Jacques Oudin Award from the French Society for Immunology (2003), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Immunologie/EFIS Award (2004), the Grand Prix Turpin in Oncology (2008), and the Grand Prix Charles Oberling in Oncology (2010). In 2007, Dr. Vivier became a senior fellow of the Institut Universitaire de France, and, in 2013, he was elected to the French National Academy of Medicine.