UC San Diego Today: Nobel Laureate and UC San Diego Alumnus Susumu Tonegawa (1939-2026)
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Susumu Tonegawa
Susumu Tonegawa was 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. Although he won the Nobel Prize for his work in immunology, Tonegawa was a molecular biologist by training and, following his Nobel Prize win, changed fields to neuroscience, exa…
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science · Japanese scientist (1939–2026) · molecular biologist · immunologist · neuroscientist · professor · scientist · physician · chemist · geneticist · university teacher · also Susumu Tonegawa, S. Tonegawa, S Tonegawa, Tonegawa, Tonegawa S, Tonegawa S.
Born 5 September 1939 · Died 11 July 2026 · Q108602
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2026· 7 entries
Texarkana Gazette: Susumu Tonegawa dies at 86; Nobel Laureate showed how antibodies fight infection
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The Asahi Shimbun: Nobel medicine laureate Susumu Tonegawa dies at 86
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AdnKronos: Susumu Tonegawa, 1st Japanese Nobel Medicine Laureate, Dies at 86
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ジャパンタイムズ: Susumu Tonegawa, first Japanese Nobel laureate in medicine, dies at 86
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毎日新聞: Japan's 1st Nobel laureate in medicine Tonegawa dies at 86
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Died 2026-07-11.
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2012· 1 entry
His lab demonstrated that the activation of a specific sub-population of mouse hippocampal neurons, labelled during a fear conditioning paradigm, is sufficient to evoke a behavioral response correlated with a precise mem
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2007· 1 entry
Won Gold medal of the Spanish National Research Council (2007).
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2006· 3 entries
Awarded Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2006).
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Awarded honorary doctorate of the University of Alcala (2006).
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And served as a Picower Professor of Neuroscience and Biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
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2003· 1 entry
BBC Asia-Pacific: Moving stories: Susumu Tonegawa
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1994· 1 entry
Was appointed the first Director of the MIT Center for Learning and Memory, which developed under his guidance into The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
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1992· 1 entry
Published “RAG-1-deficient mice have no mature B and T lymphocytes” in Cell — cited 2,324 times.
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1991· 1 entry
Awarded Shincho Gakugei Literature Prize (1991).
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1987· 4 entries
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine — for his discovery of the genetic principle for generation of antibody diversity.
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Awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1987).
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Awarded Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1987).
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For his discovery of V(D)J recombination, the genetic mechanism which produces antibody diversity
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1986· 2 entries
Awarded Robert Koch Prize (1986).
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Awarded Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Cancer Research (1986).
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1984· 1 entry
Awarded Order of Culture (1984).
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1983· 4 entries
Awarded Canada Gairdner International Award (1983).
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Awarded Person of Cultural Merit (1983).
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Tonegawa also discovered a transcriptional enhancer element associated with antibody gene complex, the first cellular enhancer element
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Published “Somatic generation of antibody diversity” in Nature — cited 3,211 times.
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1982· 1 entry
Awarded Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize (1982).
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1981· 3 entries
Awarded Asahi Prize (1981).
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Awarded German Immunology Prize (1981).
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Tonegawa became a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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1978· 1 entry
Awarded Cloëtta Prize (1978).
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1976· 1 entry
Tonegawa showed that genetic material rearranges itself to form millions of antibodies
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1971· 1 entry
Where he transitioned from molecular biology into immunology studies and carried out his landmark immunology studies
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1963· 1 entry
And, due to limited options for molecular biology study in Japan at the time, moved to the University of California, San Diego, to do his doctorate study under Dr
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1939· 1 entry
Born 1939-09-05.
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