The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell (both from the USA), and Shimon Sakaguchi (Japan) for their groundbreaking discovery on peripheral immune tolerance.
The Nobel Committee announced the award on 6th October 2025 in Stockholm, Sweden, recognizing the trio for identifying regulatory T cells (Tregs) — crucial immune components that prevent the immune system from attacking the body’s own tissues. Their discovery has opened new pathways for treating autoimmune diseases, cancer, and improving organ transplantation outcomes.
The prize, worth 11 million Swedish kronor, will be shared equally among the three laureates.
- Mary E. Brunkow (b. 1961) – Ph.D. from Princeton University; Senior Programme Manager at the Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle.
- Fred Ramsdell (b. 1960) – Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles; Scientific Advisor at Sonoma Biotherapeutics, San Francisco.
- Shimon Sakaguchi (b. 1951) – M.D. (1976) and Ph.D. (1983) from Kyoto University; Distinguished Professor at Osaka University, Japan.
Their pioneering work has revolutionized immunology and influenced clinical trials and therapeutic innovations worldwide.
(Note: The 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for discovering microRNA and its role in gene regulation.)
