Rolf M. Zinkernagel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rolf Zinkernagel
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Zinkernagel in 2011
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| Born | 6 January 1944 |
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| Known for | Cytotoxic T cells |
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| Fields | Immunology |
| Institutions | University of Zurich |
| Thesis | The role of the H-2 gene complex in cell-mediated immunity to viral and bacterial infections in mice (1975) |
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Rolf Martin Zinkernagel is a famous scientist from Switzerland. He was born on January 6, 1944. He is a professor who studies the immune system at the University of Zurich.
In 1996, he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He shared this big award with another scientist, Peter C. Doherty. They won for discovering how our bodies recognize cells infected by viruses. This discovery helped us understand how our immune system fights off sickness.
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Education and Early Career
Rolf Zinkernagel studied medicine at the University of Basel in Switzerland. He earned his first degree in medicine in 1970.
Later, he moved to Australia to continue his studies. He received his PhD from the Australian National University in 1975. After his studies, he became a leading expert in immunology, which is the study of the immune system.
How Our Bodies Fight Viruses
Rolf Zinkernagel and Peter Doherty made a very important discovery. They found out how our immune system's "killer cells" work. These special cells are called Cytotoxic T cells, or T-cells for short. Their job is to destroy cells in our body that have been infected by viruses. This stops the viruses from spreading.
The Dual Recognition Discovery
Imagine a virus gets into one of your cells. The T-cells need to know which cells are infected. Zinkernagel and Doherty discovered that T-cells look for two things on the surface of an infected cell:
- First, they look for a tiny piece of the virus, called a virus antigen.
- Second, they look for a special molecule called major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I).
Both of these "signals" must be present for the T-cell to recognize and destroy the infected cell. This "dual recognition" is like a secret handshake that tells the T-cell, "This cell is infected, destroy it!"
Before this discovery, scientists knew MHC molecules were important for organ transplants. But Zinkernagel and Doherty showed that these molecules are also key to how our bodies fight off common viruses. Their work helped us understand a basic rule of how our immune system protects us.
Awards and Honors
Rolf Zinkernagel has received many important awards for his scientific work.
- In 1996, he and Peter C. Doherty won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. This made him the 24th person from Switzerland to win a Nobel Prize.
- In 1999, he was given the Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). This is Australia's highest honor for civilians. He received it for his amazing scientific work with Peter Doherty.
- He also won the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award in 1995, which is another very respected science award.
- Other awards include the Cloëtta Prize (1981), the William B. Coley Award (1987), and the Otto-Naegeli-Preis (1988).
His discoveries have greatly helped us understand how our bodies fight off diseases.
See also
In Spanish: Rolf Zinkernagel para niños
