Japan's First Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Laureate, Susumu Tonegawa, Dies

[Financial News, Tokyo = Reporter Seo Hye-jin] Japanese media reported on the 16th that Susumu Tonegawa, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Japan's first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate, died on the 11th. Tonegawa is widely regarded as a scientist who transformed modern immunology by identifying, at the genetic level, how the immune system produces a wide variety of antibodies.
According to NHK and other outlets, Tonegawa died in the United States on the 11th. He was 86.
Born in Nagoya, Tonegawa graduated from the Faculty of Science at Kyoto University before working at the Basel Institute for Immunology in Switzerland and later serving as a professor at MIT.
He identified, at the genetic level, the mechanism by which immune cells produce different antibodies to respond to a range of pathogens, including viruses and bacteria. In recognition of his work in solving a long-standing challenge in immunology, he became the first Japanese recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1987.
Even after winning the Nobel Prize, he did not stop researching. At MIT, he expanded his work beyond immunology into neuroscience, studying brain function and the mechanisms of memory formation. Until recently, he continued research aimed at uncovering the principles of memory and learning.
In a statement released that day, Miriam Hyman, director of the MIT Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, said, "Few scientists have changed our understanding of biology as fundamentally as Professor Tonegawa." She added, "His intellectual boldness, exceptional creativity, and relentless pursuit of fundamental questions opened new horizons in both immunology and neuroscience."
She also paid tribute, saying, "His impact on the scientific community, as well as on the many people who worked with him, is beyond measure."

sjmary@fnnews.com Seo Hye-jin Reporter