Japanese immunologist Shimon Sakaguchi, a
distinguished professor at Osaka University, has expressed hope that his
Nobel Prize win will accelerate research translating scientific discoveries
into real-world medical treatments.
Sakaguchi, aged 74, was jointly awarded the 2025
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine alongside American scientists Mary
Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell for their groundbreaking work on how the immune
system is regulated — identifying the body’s immune “security guards.”
The Nobel Committee said their discoveries were crucial
in understanding why the immune system does not attack the body’s own tissues,
a finding that has revolutionised treatment approaches for autoimmune
diseases, cancer, and organ transplant rejection.
Speaking at a news conference in Osaka, Sakaguchi said
he hoped the recognition would spur more research that bridges the gap between
the lab and the clinic.
“I sincerely hope that this award will serve as an
opportunity for this field to develop further in a direction where it can be
applied in actual bedside and clinical settings,” he said.
He added that future studies aimed at both enhancing
and suppressing immune responses could yield breakthroughs in the treatment and
prevention of complex diseases.
The trio will receive their Nobel diplomas, gold
medals, and a $1.2 million prize — to be shared equally — during the official
award ceremony in Stockholm on December 10.
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