Mary Brunkow, PhD

Dr. Mary Brunkow is Senior Program Manager in the Hood Lab at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in Seattle. 

Notably, she is a recipient of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Brunkow was recognized, along with Drs. Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi, for groundbreaking discoveries illuminating the mechanisms of peripheral immune tolerance, including the identification of the FOXP3 gene and regulatory T cells’ central role in preventing autoimmune disease.

Born and raised in Portland, Ore., Brunkow attended St. Mary’s Academy before earning a BS in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Washington. She went on to complete MS and PhD degrees in Molecular Biology at Princeton University, where she trained under Dr. Shirley M. Tilghman. Following her graduate studies, she conducted post-doctoral research at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute (now the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute) in Toronto under Dr. Alan Bernstein.

In 1994, Brunkow joined Darwin Molecular Corporation, a pioneering gene-discovery biotechnology start-up in Bothell, Wash., co-founded by ISB’s founding president, Dr. Leroy Hood. At Darwin, she worked alongside mentors and collaborators, including Drs. David Galas, Fred Ramsdell, Steve Ziegler, and John Mulligan. During her tenure, Darwin was acquired by Chiroscience Group PLC (UK) in 1996 and later by Celltech Group PLC (UK) in 1999. Brunkow remained through successive transitions until the Bothell site’s closure in 2003, contributing to landmark discoveries that advanced molecular immunology and paved the way for her later Nobel-recognized work.

Between 2003 and 2005, she combined consulting and contract research roles with completing a certificate in technical and scientific writing, while also focusing on her family life. In 2006, she joined ISB as a Science Writer in Dr. Alan Aderem’s laboratory, helping communicate complex systems biology findings to broader audiences. She later served as Associate Director of Program Management at Trubion Pharmaceuticals (2008-2009) before returning to ISB in 2009 as Program Manager, Genetics, a position she still holds today.

At ISB, Brunkow has been instrumental in coordinating and managing complex, multi-disciplinary projects that integrate human genetics, whole-genome sequencing, and computational biology to uncover molecular mechanisms underlying diseases such as Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and bipolar disorder. Her work exemplifies ISB’s collaborative approach – connecting data, disciplines, and people to accelerate biomedical discovery and ensure that science serves the greater public good.

BS in Cell and Molecular Biology from University of Washington, Seattle

MS in Molecular Biology from Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.

PhD in Molecular Biology from Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
PhD mentor: Dr. Shirley M. Tilghman

Post-doctoral training at Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute (now the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Postdoc mentor: Dr. Alan Bernstein