Susumu Tonegawa

Susumu Tonegawa
Tonegawa early in his tenure at MIT
Born (1939-09-05) September 5, 1939 (age 85)
NationalityJapanese
Alma mater
Known forAntibody diversity
E-box
V(D)J recombination
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsGenetics, Immunology, Neuroscience
Institutions
Academic advisors
Websitetonegawalab.mit.edu/susumu-tonegawa

Susumu Tonegawa (利根川 進, Tonegawa Susumu, born September 5, 1939) is a Japanese scientist who was the sole recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1987 for his discovery of V(D)J recombination, the genetic mechanism which produces antibody diversity.[1] Although he won the Nobel Prize for his work in immunology, Tonegawa is a molecular biologist by training and he again changed fields following his Nobel Prize win; he now studies neuroscience, examining the molecular, cellular and neuronal basis of memory formation and retrieval.

  1. ^ "The MIT 150: 150 Ideas, Inventions, and Innovators that Helped Shape Our World". The Boston Globe. May 15, 2011. Retrieved August 8, 2011.