The Royal Swedish Academy decided to award this prize jointly to the three researchers.

They identified the “security guards” of the human immune system, scientifically known as regulatory T cells, which prevent immune cells from attacking and damaging our own bodies. It was officially recognized that their discoveries have spurred the development of medical treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases and may lead to more successful transplants.

Several of these treatments are currently in clinical trials.

Mary E. Brunkow is a member of the Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell is a member of Sonoma Biotherapeutics, San Francisco, both in the United States. Shimon Sakaguchi conducts his research at Osaka University in Japan.

Every year in October, the winners of the Nobel Prizes are announced. These prizes honor personalities in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine and Physiology, Literature, Economics, and Peace.

The Nobel Prize in Medicine is the first in a series of awards for these prestigious prizes, with announcements for the other disciplines to follow in successive days.

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