'Dendritic Cell' Scientist Dies Days Before Awarded Nobel Prize
Canadian-born scientist Ralph Steinman died only days before he was announced as a Nobel-prize winner for his immune system work.
Dr. Steinman died on Sept. 30 of pancreatic cancer at 68-years-old. He was an immunologist and cell biologist at Rockefeller University, in New York. Steinman discovered dendritic cells in the 1970s.
He received one-half of the Nobel Prize in medicine today for “his discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive immunity.”
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It is unclear whether the prize would be rescinded, as the Nobel statutes do not allow honors to be awarded to individuals after death.
“The events that have occurred are unique and, to the best of our knowledge, are unprecedented in the history of the Nobel Prize,” the organization said in a press release.
The committee was unaware that Steinman had died only three days prior to their announcement.
Upon news of Steinman’s death, the committee declared that it would study the rules of the prizes, according to the will of Alfred Nobel – the Swedish chemist that used his fortune to institute Nobel Prizes.
“The Nobel Foundation thus believes that what has occurred is more reminiscent of the example in the statutes concerning a person who has been named as a Nobel Laureate and has died before the actual Nobel Prize Award Ceremony,” the release stated.
In the past, Nobel statutes did not allow posthumous awards unless the laureate died after the announcement had been made.
As Steinman died only days before he was announced as a laureate, it remains to be seen what the committee, based in Karolinska Institute, Sweden, will determine in this case.
The award was shared this year between Steinman two other scientists, Bruce Beutler and Jules Hoffmann.
The three scientists are being rewarded due to their discoveries that have enabled “the development of improved vaccines against infectious diseases.”
The discoveries can prove to be instrumental in the long run in terms of treatments for illnesses like cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and others.
Throughout his career, Steinman received numerous other awards and recognition for his medical discoveries and his life long work on dendritic cells.
