Liputan6.com, Jakarta The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has announced Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi as the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
This prestigious announcement, made on Monday, October 6, 2025, recognizes their outstanding contributions to understanding the immune system.
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The three scientists were awarded this highest honor for their fundamental discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.
The prize of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1.17 million) will be split equally between Brunkow and Ramsdell, both 64, from the United States, and Japan's Sakaguchi, 74.
Peripheral Immune Tolerance and the Regulatory T Cells
The 2025 Nobel Prize laureates are recognized for discoveries explaining how the immune system effectively prevents attacks on its own tissues.
The peripheral immune tolerance is the body's natural defense against autoimmune diseases.
Shimon Sakaguchi pioneered a key discovery in 1995, demonstrating that the immune system is far more complex than previously thought.
He identified a previously unknown class of immune cells, regulatory T cells (Tregs), which function to protect the body from autoimmune attacks.
Furthermore, Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell made a key discovery in 2001, explaining why some strains of mice are highly susceptible to autoimmune diseases.
They discovered a mutation in a gene called Foxp3 that play a central role in immune function.
Two years later, Sakaguchi saw that the Foxp3 gene controls the development of regulatory T cells.
These Tregs act as "security guards" that detect and suppress other overreacting T cells, which maintaining the balance of the immune system.
Nobel Prize Winners Profile
Mary E. Brunkow, born in 1961, earned her Ph.D. from Princeton University, USA.
She currently serves as Senior Program Manager at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, USA, continuing to contribute to cutting-edge scientific research.
Fred Ramsdell, born in 1960, completed his Ph.D. in 1987 from the University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
He is currently a Scientific Advisor at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, USA, guiding innovation in the field of biotherapeutics.
Shimon Sakaguchi, born in 1951, earned his M.D. in 1976 and his Ph.D. in 1983 from Kyoto University, Japan.
He is currently a Distinguished Professor at the Immunology Frontier Research Center at Osaka University, Japan, leading immunology research.
Complete Schedule of Nobel Prize Announcements
The 2025 Nobel Prize announcements will take place over a full week, from October 6th to 13th.
Each day, winners will be announced in different categories, capturing the attention of the scientific world and the public.
Here is the complete schedule for the announcements for the various prestigious categories:
- Physiology or Medicine: Monday, October 6, 2025
- Physics: Tuesday, October 7, 2025
- Chemistry: Wednesday, October 8, 2025
- Literature: Thursday, October 9, 2025
- Peace: Friday, October 10, 2025
- Economics: Monday, October 13, 2025
Each Nobel Prize winner receives an iconic gold medal, a prestigious diploma, and a cash prize of 11 million Swedish kronor.
The official prize award ceremony will be held on December 10th, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.