The Nobel Medicine Prize has been awarded to Mary E Brunkow Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi for discovering how the immune system prevents attacking the body. Their groundbreaking research has deepened understanding of autoimmune diseases and inspired new medical treatments.
Sweden’s Karolinska Institute announced the Nobel Medicine Prize winners on Monday. The trio were recognised for discovering peripheral immune tolerance a process that keeps the immune system in balance. The research explained how the body fights infections while avoiding attacks on its own cells.
The award carries a prize of 11 million Swedish kronor about 1.17 million dollars to be shared equally among the three scientists. The King of Sweden will present them with gold medals at the Nobel ceremony in December.
The Nobel Committee said their discoveries created a foundation for new research fields and helped develop treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Their work began in 1995 with Sakaguchi’s initial findings followed by breakthroughs from Brunkow and Ramsdell in 2001.
The Nobel Medicine Prize is the first of this year’s Nobel awards. Other categories including peace and literature, will be announced later this week.
