The IRB owes its international visibility to fundamental discoveries, especially in the field of human immunology. Created in 2000 with just four research groups, today the IRB boasts 13 groups that contributed over 860 papers so far, many of which were published in the most prestigious scientific journals.

At the Institute, emphasis is given to studies of human biology in health and disease, since these may lead to a better understanding of pathophysiology and to novel therapeutic approaches to infectious, inflammatory, degenerative and tumour diseases.