Nobel Laureate in Medicine, 1996

Rolf M. Zinkernagel was born on 6 January 1944 in Basle, where he attended school, gymnasium and university, eventually earning his degree in Medicine. He passed the state board examination in medicine in 1968 and completed an internship in surgery.

He then devoted himself to research, working on intestinal immunity at the Institute of Biochemistry in Lausanne. In 1973 he moved to the John Curtin School at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, where - together with Peter Doherty - he discovered how immune T cells recognize virus-infected host cells. For this discovery both were awarded with the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1996.

In 1975, he moved to the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, California and worked on the role of the thymus and the protective and pathological effects of immune T cells.

In 1979, he was recruited by the University of Zurich to take the Chair in Experimental Pathology; since 1992 he has been head of the Institute of Experimental Immunology in the Department of Pathology at the University.

Zinkernagel is a member of a number of editorial and scientific boards and on the scientific committees of various associations and biotechnology companies. During the past few years he has been actively involved in promoting public understanding of gene technology, animal experiments and science in general.

Since 1968 he has been married to Kathrin Zinkernagel-Lüdin, also an M.D., whom he met when they were both students. They have three children, Christine, Annelies and Martin, all of whom have undertaken careers in medicine.

In addition to his family, Zinkernagel’s passions include the mountains and the restoration of historic buildings.