Ruslan M. Medzhitov, PhD Received Inaugural Prize for Ground-Breaking Work Exploring the Immune System

On May 15, 2013, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) awarded the first annual Lurie Prize to Ruslan M. Medzhitov, PhD, David W. Wallace Professor of Immunobiology at Yale University School of Medicine and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, at the Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center of Northwestern University. Dr. Medzhitov was recognized for seminal discoveries related to the innate immune system, the human body’s first line of defense against invading organisms which cause infection.

OVERVIEW

Dr. Medzhitov was born in 1966 in Tashkent in the former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan, to a family of mathematicians. He studied biology at Tashkent University and went on to study biochemistry at Moscow State University, earning a PhD in 1993. He faced significant adversity during his education, including 2 years of conscripted service in the Soviet Army that interrupted his undergraduate studies.  While in graduate school, financial resources for scientific research were so scarce that he did not have the opportunity to gain laboratory experience. Instead, he spent most of his time in the library reading the single copies of modern medical journals available. This is when he first came across a paper in which the late Yale professor Dr. Charles Janeway outlined his controversial theory on how the innate immune system recognizes pathogens.

The innate immune system is our first line of defense against infection. This evolutionarily ancient system is made up of cells (such a macrophages and dendritic cells) and mechanisms that can immediately recognize pathogens and promptly respond to protect us from these invaders.  As critical as it is, the innate immune system does not confer long-lasting protection. This is the job of our adaptive or acquired immune system. The adaptive immune system is composed of processes and highly specialized cells (T and B lymphocytes) that eliminate or prevent the growth of the pathogens. T and B lymphocytes, however, require specific instruction to become activated and differentiated into cells that can specifically attack the invading pathogen.

In 1989, Charles Janeway had a radical explanation: he proposed that invading pathogens must somehow express invariant molecular patterns, like standard signatures, that would be recognized by receptors on our innate immune system cells. Janeway further suggested that these first responders would then trigger a series of signals that would activate our second line of defense – the adaptive immune system. This was at odds with the mainstream thinking at the time and Janeway’s ideas were largely ignored by the scientific community – until, that is, Ruslan Medzhitov joined Janeway’s lab.  Intrigued, Medzhitov set out to find these hypothetical receptors, molecules that could first detect microbial products and then activate specialized cells to induce immunity and inflammation (the reaction of vascular tissues to pathogens and other negative stimuli). He was aware of some existing information about inflammatory signaling pathways; so guided by this, he started a painstaking, systematic quest for molecules that could activate the immune response pathways.

In 1997, Medzhitov published a seminal paper on work funded by the National Institutes of Health that proved Janeway’s theory. He had identified a protein that could activate both the innate and the adaptive immune responses: the human Toll-like receptor (TLR).  The discovery transformed the field and led to unprecedented interest in the processes and cells involved in immune signaling. Today, thanks to this body of work, we know a great deal about the mechanisms of microbial pattern recognition and we also know that, in addition to TLRs, there are several other families of receptors that are involved in immune response, some of which span membranes and others that are found inside the cell.  There is a growing suspicion, however, that there are additional types of innate immune sensing mechanisms that are not based on pattern recognition but rather on other principles. Medzhitov finds this very intriguing and the scientific community anxiously waits to find out what he discovers.

ABOUT THE LURIE PRIZE

The Lurie Prize was established by well-known, global philanthropist Ann Lurie. (A full biography and description of Ann Lurie’s philanthropic philosophy and accomplishments can be found at: http://www.annlurie.com/.)  It reflects her passion for advancing biomedical research and medical care.  Her significant financial commitments have launched and benefited research and development, as well as patient care initiatives at the University of Michigan; Northwestern University; the recently-dedicated Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; and health initiatives in Kenya, China and Rwanda.

The Lurie Prize recognizes young scientists, defined as individuals under the age of 52, who have made paradigm changing contributions to biomedical research. It is made possible by a generous gift from FNIH board member Ann Lurie. The award, which carries an honorarium of $100,000, will be presented to Dr. Medzhitov at a ceremony on Tuesday, May 14 in Chicago.

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ABOUT THE FOUNDATION FOR THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (FNIH)

Established by the United States Congress to support the mission of the NIH – improving health through scientific discovery in the search for cure – the Foundation for the NIH is a leader in identifying and addressing complex scientific and health issues. The Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) charitable organization that raises private-sector funds for a broad portfolio of unique programs that complement and enhance the NIH priorities and activities.  Since 1996, the FNIH has raised nearly $700 million and supported more than 400 projects.