Ralph M. Steinman

Ralph Marvin Steinman ( born January 14, 1943 in Montreal, † 30 September 2011 in New York City ) was a Canadian immunologist and professor at the Rockefeller University in New York City. In 2011, Steinman was awarded posthumously, with Bruce Beutler and Jules Hoffmann, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Life

Steinman in 1963 gained a bachelor's degree at McGill University in Montreal and in 1968 completed his medical studies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts with the MD from. Subsequently, he worked as a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, before he received a professorship ( Assistant Professor in 1970, Associate Professor 1976) in Leukemia Research at the Rockefeller University in New York City. In 1988 he was there full professor of Cell Physiology and Immunology. Since 1998, he also led the Christopher Browne Center for Immunology and Immune Diseases.

2011 Steinman was awarded jointly to Bruce Beutler and Jules Hoffmann of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Was honored for his discovery of dendritic cells and their role in adaptive immunity. Steinman died three days before the announcement of the award to a four years previously diagnosed cancer, without that his death had been known to the award committee. He received the award posthumously, the representative was presented to his widow Claudia Steinman.

Ralph Steinman was married and the father of two daughters and a son.

Work

Steinman discovered in 1973 together with A. Cohn Zanvil the dendritic cell and described it in the episode due to their ability for antigen presentation as a central and often triggering element of the immune response, particularly through the activation of T cells. But even in immune tolerance and disease resistance dendritic cells play an important role. In numerous works Steinman and co-workers analyzed the system of dendritic cells, their role in the immune response and in various diseases, including transplant rejection, autoimmune diseases and infectious diseases including AIDS. The work was the basis for further research on vaccines and autoimmune diseases, and cancer immunotherapy.

Steinman was the editor of the Journal of Experimental Medicine. In numerous other journals ( including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ) and scientific societies, he held functions of the advisory board.

Awards (selection)

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