THE 1988 LOUIS-JEANTET PRIZE-WINNERS
The information below refers to the time of the award.
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Professor |
Doctor John J. Skehel |
Professor Rolf Zinkernagel |
THE 1988 LOUIS-JEANTET PRIZE-WINNERS are Bert SAKMANN (Heidelberg), John J. SKEHEL (London) and Rolf M. ZINKERNAGEL (Zurich).
The 1988 Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine is attributed to three researchers who have contributed, each one in his field, to a better understanding of how cells interact with each other, or with chemical substances such as neurotransmitters, antigens or viruses.
Bert SAKMANN analyses fundamental mechanisms of the excitation of nerve cells. He has invented a revolutionary technique that permits measurements of electric current across single ion channels.
In studying the flue virus, John J. SKEHEL elucidated the three-dimensional structure of the proteins which permit the adhesion of the virus to cells and hence infection. This opens new perspectives for antivirals.
The work of Rolf M. ZINKERNAGEL concerns the immune defence against viruses. He discovered that T lymphocytes recognise foreign antigens only in association with histocompatibility proteins of the host organism.
THE AWARD CEREMONY was held on Friday April 15, 1988, in Geneva (Switzerland).
