ISB News

A friendly, plain-English explainer of the immune system’s “peacekeepers” – regulatory T cells – tracing how FOXP3 flips them on, how they prevent self-attack, and why that science landed Mary Brunkow and colleagues on Nobel morning.

Before dawn knocks and “spam” calls turn real, Mary Brunkow steps into the spotlight – reflecting on the discovery of regulatory T cells that reshaped care for autoimmune disease, cancer, and transplants, from her Darwin Molecular days to ISB today.

This story follows the Nobel spotlight to ask the bigger question: can the immune system’s “peacekeeper” cells – regulatory T cells – be engineered to actually tame autoimmune disease? A measured look at where the trials stand now (think rheumatoid arthritis and transplant tolerance) and what hurdles remain.

A clear, big-picture read that follows the discovery of the immune system’s “brakes” from early genetic clues to a Nobel-morning payoff – spotlighting Mary Brunkow’s role and how regulatory T cells reshaped care for autoimmune disease and beyond.

A photographer from The Associated Press was on Mary Brunkow’s front door in the early hours of October 6, 2025, to capture her reaction to being named a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. This story publishes a series of photos that depict Brunkow’s surprise and emotion.