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Niels Kaj Jerne was a Danish immunologist who made important contributions to understanding how the immune system works. His research and theories helped explain how the body recognizes and fights off diseases, earning him recognition as a major figure in immunology.
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Nobel Prize
- The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine1984
“for theories concerning the specificity in development and control of the immune system and the discovery of the principle for production of monoclonal antibodies”
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Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Niels
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Danish Realm
- Place of birth
- London
- Place of death
- Castillon-du-Gard
- Occupation
- university teacher
- Educated at
- Erasmus University Rotterdam
- Employer
- University of Pittsburgh
- Languages spoken
- Danish
- Image
- Niels Kaj Jerne 1950 crop.jpg
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- Commons category
- Niels Kaj Jerne
- date of death
- 1994-10-07
- date of birth
- 1911-12-23
- member of
- American Philosophical Society
- P8168
- 16414 Le Procope
- interested in
- immunology
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Encyclopedic overview
Niels Kaj Jerne, FRS (23 December 1911 – 7 October 1994) was a Danish immunologist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1984 with Georges J. F. Köhler and César Milstein "for theories concerning the specificity in development and control of the immune system and the discovery of the principle for production of monoclonal antibodies".
Jerne is known for three significant ideas. Firstly, instead of the body producing antibodies in response to an antigen, Jerne postulated that the immune system already has the specific antibodies it needs to fight antigens. Secondly, it was known that the immune system learns to be tolerant to the individual's own self. Jerne postulated that this learning takes place in the thymus. Thirdly, it was known that T cells and B cells communicate with each other.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Niels Kaj Jerne” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.