Today the winners of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Medicine were announced, awarding Ralph Steinman, Bruce A. Beutler, and Jules A. Hoffmann for their discoveries concerning the immune system. Beutler and Hoffmann were cited for their discoveries in the 1990s of receptor proteins that can recognize bacteria and other microorganisms as they enter the body, and activate innate immunity. Steinman was honored for his discovery in 1973 of dendritic cells, which activate T-cells and help regulate adaptive immunity.
Sadly, Ralph Steinman passed away on Friday, presenting a unique quandary for the Nobel committee, whose rules prohibit awarding a prize posthumously unless the winner dies after the award is announced. Steinman was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer four years ago and his life was extended using a dendritic-cell based immunotherapy he designed. Steinman's research also contributed to the launch last year of the first vaccine designed to kill tumors. Regardless of the Nobel committee's decision, Steinman will always be remembered for his major contributions to the field of immunology.
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2011/press.pdf
It is incredible how much we can affect our future and this world medically. When I heard the news this morning, I was really inspired. To me it is unbelievable that Steinman used his own work and discoveries in order to prolong his life and the lives of many others. I look forward to reading some of his research and using him as a model for my future schoolings.
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ReplyDeleteThe good news is that the Nobel Prize committee found that, since at the time they announced the award for Dr. Steinman (a McGill grad, like me) they believed he was alive, their rules allow them to go ahead and give him the Prize posthumously, something they have not done since 1931.
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