American immunologist Fred Ramsdell recently won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine alongside two other scientists. However, he couldn’t be reached in time since he was on a three-week mountain climbing adventure in the Rocky Mountains. Ramsdell had his phone set to airplane mode, allowing him to fully embrace this digital detox and mental getaway.
On October 6, the Karolinska Institute in Sweden announced that the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine will be awarded to American scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell, along with Japanese scientist Shimon Sakaguchi. They are being recognized for their groundbreaking discoveries in the mechanisms of peripheral immune tolerance. The total prize money amounts to 11 million Swedish kronor, roughly equivalent to 8.4 million Hong Kong dollars, which will be shared among the three laureates.
Ramsdell arrived at a campsite in Montana on the afternoon of October 7, wrapping up his mountaineering journey across Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. After his wife, Laura O’Neill, regained signal on her phone, she received a flood of congratulatory messages. Initially, when Laura excitedly shouted, Ramsdell thought she had spotted a grizzly bear, only to later realize it was the news that he had won an award. Since his phone was in airplane mode, they missed a call from Thomas Perlmann, the Secretary of the Nobel Committee, along with countless messages of congratulations from friends and family.
Ramsdell is employed by Sonoma Biotherapeutics, which announced on October 6 that this scientist is currently enjoying a great life while participating in the climbing trip Stay Away from the Internet. Ramsdell's colleague and co-founder of the lab, Jeffrey Bluestone, also confirmed he has been unable to reach him, speculating that he might be backpacking in a remote area of Idaho.
It wasn't until the morning of October 7th that the Nobel Committee finally got in touch with Ramsdell. Now 64 years old, Ramsdell expressed in a media interview his desire to spend as much time as possible in the mountains. He feels Gratitude and humility about receiving the award and looks forward to sharing this honor with his colleagues.
The research conducted by the three awardees sheds light on how the immune system distinguishes between pathogens that need to be attacked and the body's own cells that need to be protected. Shimon Sakaguchi first discovered a novel type of immune cell, known as regulatory T cells, in 1995; these cells play a crucial role in shielding the body from autoimmune diseases.
Next, Brunkow and Ramsdell discovered the crucial role of the FOXP3 gene in the development of regulatory T cells. Nobel Committee Chairman Olle Kämpe pointed out that their findings are vital for understanding how the immune system works, explaining why not everyone suffers from severe autoimmune diseases. These studies not only pave the way for new therapies, particularly in the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, but there are already over 200 clinical trials based on their research, covering various fields including cancer immunotherapy, autoimmune diseases, and stem cell transplantation.
