A Tribute to Ralph M. Steinman
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Obituary A tribute to Ralph M. Steinman Ralph Marvin Steinman, the pioneering shoes, left ready for his next visit, still wait immunologist and discoverer of dendritic on the top shelf of our shoe closet, watch- cells — pivotal cells that initiate and regu- ing us as we go about our lives. My hiking late the body’s immune response — passed shoes, bought for me by Ralph to hike a away on September 30, 2011, just three days mountain near Saranac Lake in New York before it was announced that he was to be State in 1984, sit comfortably alongside. awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology Ralph’s amazing mind has always com- or Medicine (Figure 1). manded my greatest admiration and respect. Ralph was born on January 14, 1943, in During his extraordinary career, he trained Montreal, the second of four siblings. After many excellent graduate students and post- graduating with a BSc from McGill Univer- doctoral fellows from around the world; sity, where he studied biology and chemis- many are now professors in immunol- try, he worked for two years as a predoctoral ogy departments worldwide. He was always research fellow at Harvard Medical School encouraging, enthusiastic, and excited about before receiving his MD in 1968. He then the findings of researchers in his lab, and was an intern and resident at Massachusetts even those from other labs, especially those General Hospital. In 1970, he became a post- Figure 1 whose work related to dendritic cells. One doctoral fellow at The Rockefeller University Ralph Steinman in the garden of Nijo Castle, of his first questions whenever we met was in New York, where he worked with Zanvil Kyoto, in April 2007 before going to a board “What new findings?” I think this was his A. Cohn and James G. Hirsch, leaders in the meeting at RIKEN, Yokohama. way of encouraging us in our experiments. study of phagocytes. He never left The Rock- His approach actively fostered a worldwide efeller University, becoming professor and community in which everyone worked senior physician in the Laboratory of Cel- creatic cancer. He was passionately involved together in harmony and in collaboration. lular Physiology and Immunology (1988), in science until the last days of his life, and it During his career, Ralph published nearly Henry G. Kunkel Professor (1995), and direc- is deeply lamentable that he did not live to 450 scientific papers, with more slated for tor of the Christopher H. Browne Center for hear of his award. The news of Ralph’s pass- publication in the next few months. He was Immunology and Immune Diseases (1998). ing left me with a profound sense of grief, elected to the National Academy of Sci- When Ralph joined the lab led by Cohn not only because he deeply regretted the loss ences and won numerous awards, including and Hirsch, each of the researchers — many of the opportunity to continue his scientific the Max Planck Research Award, the Rob- becoming preeminent scientists in their own work, but also because his passing will be a ert Koch Prize, the Gairdner Foundation right — was working on phagocytes known as great loss to the immunology community. International Award, the Novartis Prize in macrophages. But in 1973, Ralph and Cohn I first met Ralph at the Naito Foundation Basic Immunology, the Debrecen Award for discovered dendritic cells — named after the International Symposium “Self-Defense Molecular Medicine, the Albert Lasker Basic Greek word for tree (dendreon) for their long Mechanisms: Role of Macrophages,” which Medical Research Award, and, of course, the and tree-like arms. For this discovery and was held in Tokyo November 2–4, 1981. Nobel Prize. Ralph was the most extraordi- subsequent studies exploring the unique This was Ralph’s first visit to Japan. Inspired narily generous person, whose devotion and capacity of dendritic cells to activate and by Ralph’s discovery of dendritic cells, I had unswerving service to the scientific commu- regulate adaptive immunity, the Nobel Com- started my research into dendritic cells and nity were unprecedented. mittee bestowed upon Ralph the 2011 Nobel macrophages at Kyoto University. At that Ralph’s family organized an informal gath- Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The other time, few believed that dendritic cells could ering on the floor of his new lab on October recipients — Jules Hoffmann of the French be a unique cell type that could not only ini- 10. It allowed me, along with the more than National Center of Scientific Research in tiate but also regulate immune responses. I 300 other people from around the world in Strasbourg and Bruce Beutler of the Scripps joined Ralph’s lab in 1982, and stayed for attendance, to share my appreciation for Research Institute in La Jolla — are being 26 productive months. After I returned to Ralph’s professional and personal guidance recognized for their discovery of receptor Kyoto, we continued professionally to col- over the years and to express just how much proteins that can recognize microorganisms laborate in our research while, personally, he will be missed. It is difficult to believe that and activate innate immunity (pattern recog- our respective families kept in close contact. Ralph is no longer with us, although in spirit nition receptors). Linking these two findings I feel privileged to have had such a rich and he will be with us forever. about dendritic cell functions and the role of rewarding relationship with this great man pattern recognition receptors has helped elu- through these many years. Kayo Inaba cidate how immune self-defense mechanisms Ralph was an impressive jogger, hiker, Laboratory of Immunobiology, Depart- work — how activation of the innate immu- and skier. He always carried jogging shoes ment of Animal Development and Physi- nity leads to adaptive immune responses. with him when traveling to meetings, sym- ology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Sadly, Ralph passed away just three days posia, and congresses. When he stayed at Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. Phone: before the Nobel Committee announcement, our house, near the university campus, he 81.75.753.4088; Fax: 81.75.753.4112; and after four and a half years battling pan- would jog on the track every morning. His E-mail: [email protected]. 4568 The Journal of Clinical Investigation http://www.jci.org Volume 121 Number 12 December 2011.